The Journey
by Ariel.611
Summary: Sequel to Moving Towards Tomorrow. Sasuke feels the need to travel again but this time he invites Sakura to come with him. How will their relationship develop as the learn more about the world and each other?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** This is the first chapter from the sequel to Moving Towards Tomorrow however it has next to nothing to do with that previous story so if you didn't read it you're not missing out on much. Unlike that previous story however I don't have a definite plan for this so updates will probably come a lot slower until I figure it out. This might even end up as just a citrusy one shot. Anyway. Enjoy.

Sakura smiled as she stood next to Sasuke at the gates of Konoha. Kakashi, Naruto, and her parents stood before her.

"You two be careful." Kakashi reminded them. "Stay in contact as much as possible too. I'm not going to let the others know that you've left the village just yet to protect your safety but I'll get out sooner or later."

The pair nodded and then staggered as Naruto flung his arms around both of them hugging them tight. "Take care of her." He hissed in the Uchiha's ear. "And Sakura, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"I'm already temped to." Saskue muttered as he tried so shrug his friend off.

Naruto released them and smiled. "See you guys later!" he called as they turned and walked hand and hand down the road leading away from the village. He glanced at Kakashi and chuckled. "I think I know how Sakura felt a little." He admitted. "I'll be a little lonely without them around." He said scratching his face.

Kakashi chuckled and hooked his arm around his apprentice's neck. "Don't worry about it too much kiddo." He said pulling him from the gate. "They'll be back before you know it."

"Where to first?" Sakura asked as they walked.

"There's a place I want to show you." He said as he led her through the forest.

"Alright." She replied as she shifted under her tan cloak that matched her partner's. "Do you have a plan for this particular trip of yours?" she asked.

He nodded. "I'm thinking of paying a visit to The Village Hidden in the Clouds." He replied.

Sakura blinked in surprise. "I thought they didn't like you there?"

"They don't." he replied. "How could they? I attacked the beloved little brother of their leader."

"Then why would you go there?" she asked.

"Because I need to make amends." He replied. "I didn't think it would be safe for me to go alone, however I think that with you by my side, they might actually listen to me before they try to kill me."

The pink haired ninja rolled her eyes. "What am I? Your get out of jail free card?" she asked.

He snickered. "Something like that."

She smiled in response and linked fingers with him. Her eyes flickered up to his and she frowned. "What's bothering you?" she asked.

"I'm just not used to this." He admitted squeezing her hand. "Going from being alone all of the time to having someone by my side is an adjustment."

"Try not to worry about it too much." She said nudging him with her shoulder. "You did alright when we were genin."

He chuckled. "Those were the days weren't they?" he murmured.

She nodded. "Yeah. The chip on your shoulder wasn't quite as big back then." She teased.

He scowled at her and she laughed as she leaned against him. "Do you want to know what one of my favorite memories of you is from back then?" she asked.

Sasuke looked down at her and shrugged. "Sure, why not."

She tapped her chin as a little smile touched her lips. "The first time we ever met Guy Sensei, right before the Chunin exams."

"You mean right after Rock Lee beat me in at fight?" Sasuke clarified.

"Yup, that's the one." Sakura replied.

"What about it?" he asked.

She giggled. "That was the first time I'd ever seen you that pissed off and that freaked out within such a short amount of time." She admitted. "The faces you made were priceless!" she exclaimed giggling even harder.

He blinked and then shook his head. "You should've seen yours and Naruto's face." He remarked. "Your faces were far more entertaining than mine."

"You were so rattled you didn't even take your fall right." She giggled.

"He just caught me off guard." Sasuke muttered.

"Apparently so did Guy Sensei's entrance." She snickered.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and then smiled. "It's true. He did take the cake as far as grand entrances go."

She giggled and leaned against him. "Well, you can beat Rock Lee in a fight now so it's all good right?"

He nodded. "Thankfully Kakashi didn't punish us Guy punished Lee."

The pink haired medic chuckled. "Maybe you wouldn't have run off if he'd beat you senseless a couple of times."

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "Fair enough." He murmured. "Let's pick up the pace a little. I'd like to take you to this place and then find a place to stay before nightfall."

She nodded and the pair of shinobi sprinted through the trees. After a few hours they landed in a place that Sakura had only been once before. "This place." She murmured.

"It's where I killed Itachi." Sasuke murmured as he stood underneath the wall bearing the Uchiha crest that had been weathered with time.

She blinked in surprise. "So that's what happened here?" she asked.

He nodded. "I only found out later that he let me kill him." He clenched his hands into fists. "Sakura, you said that you wanted to share my pain." He said reaching out to touch her shoulders. "Did you mean that?"

She nodded. "Of course I meant it." She replied.

He nodded and laid his forehead against hers. "Then would it be alright if I showed you Itachi? I want at least someone else besides me to know the truth." His grip on her shoulders tightened.

She nodded. "I trust you." She assured him.

He nodded and looked into her eyes. "Don't look away." He murmured as his eyes shifted to blood red.

Sakura couldn't even if she wanted to as Sasuke cast his genjutsu showing her the memories of his brother. The gentle, kind brother who helped raise him, the monster that wiped out his clan and then tortured him, and the brother that had sacrificed everything to protect the little brother and village he loved most.

Her eyes filled with tears as she watched through his eyes and soon recognized the consistent gesture of affection throughout the entirety of the vision. Itachi's affectionate poke to the forehead. When the genjutsu was broken she looked at her lover whose eyes were filled with tears and her heart ached for him. She reached out to him and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Oh Sasuke." She murmured. "Please forgive yourself. How could you have known that he wasn't well or the truth behind his exile from the village?"

He shuddered in her arms and wrapped his arms around her. "I know. I keep telling myself that but…" he tightened his grip on her. "Why didn't he just tell me?"

She sighed and stroked her fingers through his hair. "He was just trying to protect you." She murmured.

They stood wrapped around one another for some time before Sasuke finally released her and took a step back. "Are you alright?" he asked touching her face. "That was a lot of information."

Sakura nodded. "That was nothing compared to the last genjutsu I was under." She said as they left the rubble behind.

"Oh? What was that?" he asked.

"It was used in a barrier cast by those moon ninja." She explained. "It made you relieve your childhood."

"That sounds interesting." He replied.

"I guess you could say that." She said as they sprinted across the trees. "For some reason all of us relived the same moments though. Do you remember that random lesson where Irkua sensei asked us the write down the name of the person you'd want to spend your last day on earth with?" she asked.

His brow furrowed in concentration. "Barely." He admitted. "I remember thinking that I didn't have someone like that and didn't write down anyone's name."

Sakura smiled. "Ah, yet more proof that you and Naruto are reincarnated brothers." She remarked. "Naruto did the same."

"Really?" Sasuke asked. "That's a surprise." He glanced at the pink haired medic. "Who's name did you write down?"

She blushed and looked down at the trees. "Do you really have to ask?" she muttered. He cocked a brow and she sighed. "Think about it! It was back when I was eleven! Of course I wrote down your name!" she snarled her face hot with embarssment.

The Uchiha's eyes widened and then softened as a little smile touched his lips. "You're a lot like him." He remarked.

"A lot like who?" she replied.

"Like Itachi. Trying to protect me as best you could even though I was too blind to see it." He replied. "Thank you for that. Really."

Sakura smiled. "Of course. Any time."

Night began to fall as they arrived in the next village and quickly secured a room for the night. "Should we just eat at the attached restaurant?" Sakura asked. "I'm not really in the mood to go anywhere else."

Sasuke nodded and they made their way back to the dining room and settled down at a nearby table. Sakura quickly looked over the menu and made her order her eyes shooting daggers at how the waitress subtly brushed up against the Uchiha. As the waitress sauntered away Sasuke glanced over at her and chuckled.

"You probably shouldn't take out your frustration on the fork." He suggested motioning to the piece of silverware in her hands.

Her eyes widened and she blushed as she used her monster strength the fix the utensil. "Sorry." She muttered. "I used to be able to brush stuff like that off but now…"

He leaned over and brushed his lips against her ear. "Are you possessive now that you've had me in every way?" he murmured his hot breath sending a delicious shiver down her spine.

Sakura shuddered and leaned away from him. "So what if I am?" she snapped. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all." He replied with a smirk.

"You're a demon." She muttered.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway." He replied as he lifted a hand to brush through her hair.

She rolled her eyes and then scowled as the waitress returned carrying their food. The girl set Sakura's plate down in front of her and she didn't miss the stink eye the young woman gave her before she laid Sasuke's plate down in front of him and batted her eyelashes.

"Is there anything else I can get for you? Anything at all." The girl purred.

Sakura took a deep breath as Sasuke shook his head no and dismissed the girl. "Sakura, the silverware." He reminded her again.

The pink haired medic snorted. "Better this fork than her face." She muttered as she fixed the tableware again and began to eat. Her eyes widened when she felt Sasuke's foot touch hers underneath the table. She caught his eye and blushed at the heat she saw there. Her bad mood vanished even as her desire flared. They ate quickly exchanging warm glances and gentle brushes until their meal was finished. "Shall we?" Sasuke whispered in the pink haired medic's ear as his hand brushed across her thigh under the table.

She nodded. "Yeah. Let's go to bed."

He pulled her from their table leaving the money on the table and pulled her across the dining room floor.

"Sir! Are you sure you don't need anything else?" the waitress called out walking towards them. "Dessert or something like that?"

With an exasperated sigh he pulled Sakura to him and crushed his lips to hers kissing her passionately for a few moments before pulling away. "I'd rather enjoy my dessert in my room if you don't mind." He said before pulling the flushing kunoichi with him into their room slamming the door behind them and pushed her up against it as his lips descended on hers again as his hands frantically pulled at her clothes.

"Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed between kisses. "Slow down!"

"No." he replied latching his mouth to her neck. "I've been thinking about this since last night." He murmured as he loosened his own pants and let them fall to the floor. "I want you Sakura." He groaned as he pulled her black shorts and panties down in one motion. He reached between her legs and smirked at the wetness there. "You want me too."

"Shut up!" she snarled blushing furiously.

He lifted her in his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist as the stumbled to the bed and he pressed her hands above her head taking a moment to savor the view of her stretched out beneath him before he entered her his eyes closing as he buried himself in her slick heat. "Sakura he groaned as he released her hands to grab her legs as he thrust into her.

"Sasuke!" she moaned one hand gripping her hair as the other grasped at the sheets.

The sight only aroused him further and his thrusts became harder and faster as he drove into her. White light exploded behind his eyes as he moaned her name and lost himself in her and collapsed on top of her. He was eternally grateful that he'd restrained himself in Suna because he was fairly certain he'd have lost his mind being stuck in a bedroom with her but unable to be with her in this way because of the blonde idiot and Sai.

"Sasuke." Sakura murmured as she snuggled against him her emerald eyes heavy with the afterglow of sex and tiredness.

He sighed and ran his fingers though her sweat dampened hair. How he'd lived without this woman for so long boggled his mind. He chuckled as he thought about his genin self and wondered what his younger self would think if he knew that the girl he thought was so annoying would be lying next to him in bed one day.

"You're quiet. What are you thinking about?" The pink haired woman asked.

"I'm just wondering how my younger self would react if he knew that the annoying girl with pink hair would one day end up as his girlfriend." He replied.

Sakura giggled. "He'd never believe it." She replied. "I'm pretty sure little me would faint though."

"You were prone to fainting." He mused glancing down at her. "Are you still?" he asked.

She blushed. "Does it matter?" she replied looking away.

"Of course it does." He replied. "I care about you."

Sakura sighed. "I am." She admitted. "Lady Tsunade hasn't been able to figure out why either. It doesn't happen as often as it used to obviously."

He nodded and held her closer. "What a troublesome girl." He murmured before he kissed her on top of her head. "I don't mind though. Thank you for telling me."

She nodded and snuggled closer. "Goodnight Sasuke." She murmured as her eyes drifted closed.

"Goodnight Sakura." He replied kissing her once more before he drifted into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The pair walked hand in hand down one of the many roads in the Fire Kingdom and Sakura still couldn't believe she was actually traveling with the Uchiha she'd been in love with from childhood. His gait hadn't changed much in the time they'd been separated she realized, his strides were long and even unlike the quick energetic strides of Naruto. It made her a little self-conscious as she caught herself steadying her stride in an attempt to match his better.

"You don't have to force yourself you know." Sasuke said seeming to notice her discomfort. "I don't care how you walk."

She blushed a little embarrassed that he'd noticed. "Sorry." She replied. "I'm so used to being around Naruto all of the time that traveling without him feels a little weird." She admitted.

Sasuke nodded and she noted a little shift in his posture and how he gripped her and a little tighter in his own. As they walked, she noticed a village up ahead and a figure that seemed familiar walking towards them among the crowd.

"The fire temple is near here." She said to herself as she tried to place the face of the person moving towards them.

"Is it? I've never visited it." Sasuke replied moving a little closer to her as the crowd thickened.

Sakura nodded. "I haven't had the chance to see it since it was badly damaged by Hidan and Kakazu." She said glancing up at the steps she knew led to the giant building.

"I didn't hear anything about that." The Uchiha admitted.

The pink haired girl nodded. "Yeah but why am I thinking about that now." She murmured. "Unless…"

"Sakura?!" an incredulous voice called out. "Is that you?"

The pink haired medic blinked in surprise as the person with a familiar face that she couldn't quite place stepped up to her. He was a young man of average height with straight jet black hair and dark eyes. His hair was pulled back into a low pony tail and he wore a white and black uniform that she remembered from her chunin days. Her eyes widened as she finally put the familiar face together with the close proximity of the Fire Temple. "Sora?" she murmured. "Is that really you?"

The young man grinned at her. "I knew it! It is you Sakura! I mean, what other girl has hair that color?" he said extending his hand towards hers.

She released her hold on the Uchiha's hand and grasped the young man's hand. "Sora. I can't believe it! How have you been? I thought you were going to travel the world?"

He laughed. "Well that was several years ago. I decided to come back to the fire temple and resume my training about a year ago. How slow do you think I am?" he glanced at Sasuke his lips turning down slightly. "Who's this guy?" he asked. "And where's the blonde idiot? You and that guy were pretty much attached at the hip if I remember right."

Sakura smiled and gestured to her companion who had his typical mask of indifference on his face. "This is Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto is in the leaf village training to become the next Hokage."

Sora's eyes widened as he stared down the onyx eyed man. "Why are you with someone like him?" he demanded.

"He's not the man he used to be." She assured her old friend placing a hand on his arm smiling when a thought came to her. "How is your hand?" she asked pulling up the sleeve of his robe.

A little tinge of blush came to his cheeks as she reached for the bandages. "Can we do this somewhere a little more private?" he asked. "At the temple perhaps? I'm sure you'd be more than welcomed there."

"Of course." She replied before she glanced up at Sasuke. His expression had hardened slightly and she knew he wanted an explanation. "I'll explain later." She assured him.

The young monk in training let them to large building and Sakura was surprised to see that it looked almost identical to the way it did when she'd first seen it with Sai, Yamato, and Naruto. The gates were opened and after convincing the head monk that Sasuke was there as her escort and not a danger, they entered the temple.

"It feels like only yesterday you shoved Naruto down those stairs." Sakura said as they sat down in one of the temple rooms.

Sora snickered. "He totally fell for it. What a trusting guy."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah but you have to admit, if it wasn't for him you'd be dead or worse."

The monk in training sighed. "Yeah, whatever! I didn't ask for his help."

Sakura smiled as she reached for the bandages unwrapping the digits with practiced speed and skill. "That doesn't mean you didn't need it." She said as she worked. The white fabric slipped away and she studied the hand that had once looked like the hand of the nine tailed fox. It was much smaller now though the finger tips were still clawed and the skin was a reddish brown color. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she probed the appendage. "I'm surprised it's still as malformed as it is. I knew we should've kept you in the hospital longer. Have you had any trouble with the nine tails chakra?"

Sora shook his head. "Not since that day Naruto dragged me kicking and screaming out of hell." He admitted.

The pink haired medic laughed. "That's something you and Sasuke have in common." She said as her hands glowed green doing her best to help the skin and his fingertips look a little more human like.

"So what have you been up to?" Sora asked. "I heard you kicked butt during the war. I'm sure you helped out with that whole moon fiasco too since I saw the fox spirit up there."

Sakura blushed and smiled shyly at the boy. "Thanks. I did help out with that." She admitted. "I've just been busy at the hospital and going on missions from time to time."

"So you finally surpassed that old lady?" Sora asked a little smirk playing on his lips.

The pink haired medic snorted. "You're a brave man to say that. I remember the last time you called her that. She thrashed you so hard." She said giggling at the memory of the young monk in training flying through the door and slamming into the wall with Lady Tsunade right on his heels ready to beat some respect into the unruly young man.

Sora winced and touched the back of his head. "Yeah… I still have nightmares about that." He admitted. "So Naruto is training to be Hokage huh? That's good to hear." He smiled. "He's finally coming closer to his dream." The young man glanced up at her. "I don't remember properly saying it before, but I'm really sorry that I nearly killed you back then. If it wasn't for Naruto acting when he did, I probably would have, so thank you. You even healed be after everything was over."

She smiled. "Of course I did. We're friends remember?" she punched him in the arm. "Since you're this close you should head over to the village and say hi. Everyone will be happy to see you I'm sure."

Sora winced and nodded. "Alright alright. Geeze, you're just as pushy as ever." He muttered.

"I'll drag you there by the ear if you haven't visited by the time I get back." She threatened as she rose from where she'd been kneeling. "We should probably find a place to stay for the night." She said to her quiet companion her brow furrowing a little at the brooding expression on his face.

"You could stay here if you'd like." Sora assured her. "You're more than welcome. It's the least I can do to repay you for what you've done for me."

The pink haired medic smiled at him but shook her head noting Sasuke's discomfort. "No. I appreciate it but we've already arranged to stay in a inn in town." She lied.

"If you say so." Sora replied walking with them towards the door. "Thank you again, for everything." He said blushing a little as he looked at Sakura. "I really don't know what would've become of me without you and Naruto."

Sakura smiled. "You're welcome. If that hand of yours ever starts to give you trouble again, just come to the village and I'll work on it again."

"Alright." He replied. "I'll see you later then."

She nodded and with Sasuke at her side began the long decent to the village below. After a few minutes she spoke to her silent companion. "That guy is Sora. He was a monk in training that Team 7 met while on a mission to stop some grave robbers." She explained. "It was the same mission where Sai broke his arm protecting me from that giant spider. Anyway, things got a little complicated but as it turned out, his dad was actually the leader of the group robbing the graves and had gathered the excess chakra left over from Kurama's attack on The Leaf and implanted it in Sora when he was five years old before disappearing and leaving him at the fire temple." She glanced up at the darkening sky. "He suffered in the same way Naruto did because of it. Later, his father manipulated him into helping him attack the village and the Nine Tails inside of him was unleashed. Naruto and Sora fought pretty hard but of course Naruto won and brought him back to his senses."

"Did he really nearly kill you?" The Uchiha asked after she finished her explanation.

The medic blinked in surprise and then nodded. "Yes. He wasn't in his right mind at the time though. He'd lost his humanity because of the Nine Tails." She sighed. "I was just trying to heal Naruto because he was in pretty bad shape. You probably didn't know because I don't think you ever saw him after he unleashed that chakra before he had control of it, but being in that state did awful things to his body. The first layer of his skin would nearly always be stripped away completely." She glanced down feeling a stab of pain in her chest. "Healing him was the only thing I could do for him. No matter how badly I wanted to be able to fight in his place so that he didn't lose control of the Nine Tails or suppress and stop his transformation all together, I just wasn't strong or capable enough."

"Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Yours is healing and there's nothing wrong with that." The Uchiha assured her. "Being able to heal is a far better skill than being able to kill."

Sakura blushed and nodded as they approached an Inn and requested a room ignoring the suggestive gaze the Inn Keeper gave them as they made their way up to the room they'd rented. Sakura frowned as Sasuke slipped out of his cloak and hung it up on the nearby coat rack and then sat down on one of the chairs in the room his brow furrowed together in the way she knew meant he was brooding. "Sasuke." She murmured reaching for him. "What's wrong?"

He flinched at the feeling of her fingers on his shoulders and she immediately drew back. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry. I'm a little tired. Why don't you go ahead and take a shower first?"

"Do you want to join me?" Sakura replied with a playful waggle of her brows.

"No thank you." He replied. "I'll see you when you get out."

When she stepped out of the small room less than half an hour later, she found him already in bed his breathing slow and even as though he was asleep. With a little sigh, she slipped under the covers and pressed a light kiss to his cheek before she curled up against him resting her hands lightly on his back. "Sasuke, I love you." She murmured softly before she drifted asleep herself.

She slid into a dream and watched from a distance as a much younger Sasuke hid behind a nearby tree studying his older brother as he went through a series of complex exercises throwing kunai and shuriken with deadly accuracy at the various targets strewn about the small training grounds. She smiled as the youngest Uchiha's eyes lit up almost glowing with admiration and for his older brother as the older Uchiha landed on the ground and then glanced in the direction where his little brother was hiding. A smile crossed his lips as he motioned the boy forward.

"Come over here Sasuke." Itachi called out. "I know you're there."

Sasuke stepped out of his hiding spot and scowled at his brother briefly before running forward and hugging him around the waist.

"You're so good at that brother!" he exclaimed. "Will you teach me?"

Itachi smiled. "Alright, I'll teach you a little but we don't have a lot of time before we have to go home." He said as he pulled a kunai from his weapons pouch. "Do you remember what this is called?" he asked his little brother.

"A kunai." Sasuke replied with confidence.

The older Uchiha nodded and smiled. "Right." He said as he carefully placed it in the young Uchiha's hands. "You must be very careful with them. They're very sharp and many are coated with poison." He explained as he helped his younger brother hold the weapon. "They're pretty easy to throw but the trick is getting it to go where you want it to." He said pointing at the nearest target. "When you throw it, you don't need to flick your wrist as hard as you would if you were throwing a ball. Balls are meant to spin through the air, kunai are meant to go straight." He said as he guided his brother through the motions. The knife flew through the air and hit the bottom of the target. "See! You did it!"

Sasuke blushed and grinned. "I did!" he looked up at his brother. "When I grow up I'm going to be a great ninja just like you." He said with confidence.

"I'm sure you'll be a better ninja than me one day." Itachi said poking the smaller boy in the middle of his forehead. He pulled the kunai from the wooden target and placed it back in his pouch and quickly gathered the others. "Come. Mother will scold us if we're late for dinner again." He said as he reached for his little brother's hand.

Sasuke smiled and took it walking beside his brother towards their home. Sakura smiled at the exchange and felt tears stinging her eyes as her heart ached for both boys.

"If only we could've had more days like this one." A low voice spoke from beside her. She turned and nearly jumped as Itachi materialized beside her. He smiled at her. "This is one of Sasuke's memories, right? He must had shown it to you using his sharringan."

Sakura nodded. "He did. He said he wanted to show you to me." She walked beside the older Uchiha. "He still idolizes you. He carries your headband with him."

Itachi smiled a little at that. "Some things never change." He said as the pair of them watched the boys bound into their house chattering loudly as their mother called them to dinner. Itachi smiled at the scene and then turned to the pink haired medic. "You love my brother."

She nodded. "I've loved him since we were around this age." She said as she studied the carefree smile on Sasuke's face. "He was eating tomatoes by himself when I saw him. I thought he was the cutest boy in the whole world and then he smiled and my heart was sold." She chuckled and then sighed. "I haven't seen him smile like that since we were genin." She admitted her hands balling into fists as tears welled in her eyes. "What happened to you, to both of you wasn't fair at all." She said as tears streamed down her face.

Itachi studied her, his eyes gentle. "I understand why he chose you. You love so deeply." Her eyes widened in surprise when he bowed deeply to her. "I leave my brother in your care. Please continue to love him."

"Of course." She said with a smile. "I couldn't stop even if I wanted to."

The older Uchiha smiled and then glanced up at the sky. "He needs you now." He said suddenly. "Go to him." He smiled at her as the world around them began to fade. "Continue to protect and heal his heart Sakura. Thank you for everything. I'm sure we'll meet again."

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at the dark ceiling of the room they were staying in as a tear streamed down her cheek. "Itachi." She murmured softly before she became aware of the sensation of shaking against her arm. She quickly turned towards the sensation and saw Sasuke curled up into the fetal position beside her his hands clutching at his hair, his breath coming out in ragged pants.

"No!" he groaned in his sleep. "Stop it!"

"Sasuke." She murmured shifting to sit up in bed. Her hands reached for him and grasped his shoulder. "Wake up Sasuke." She said shaking him gently.

He shuddered and turned so that he was lying on his back and she was shocked to see tears running down his cheeks as his brow creased his eyes still closed. "Naruto, Itachi, Sakura." He moaned. "Sorry. So sorry."

The brokenness of his tone cut her like a knife with his tears only adding to the ache in her heart. "Sasuke!"She called again. "Open your eyes."

"Sakura!" he exclaimed his eyes flying open as his body went rigid. "Sakura!"

"Shh." She murmured touching his face lightly and turning his head towards her with the slight pressure of her finger tips. "I'm right here."

His arms reached for her dragging her half down and himself half up as he buried his face in her hair breathing deeply. "Sakura!" he murmured against her neck his grip on her tightening. "I thought I'd killed you." He admitted.

"I'm right here." She assured him gently stroking a hand through his sweat dampened hair as her opposite hand gently moved in a circular motion across his back trying to sooth away the tension resting there. "I'm alive. Everything is fine."

He looked up at her his eyes filled with pain and she could sense him tense as he pulled away and placed his feet on the floor cradling his own head in his hands. "I… I shouldn't be here. With you." He muttered. "Not after everything I've done."

Sakura shifted and knelt behind him on the bed and draped her arms over his shoulders as she laid her cheek against the side of his neck. Instinctively, she knew that he didn't need sweet words or lectures about his self-worth and forgiving himself. He needed a different kind of comfort, warmth and light to chase away the shadowy demons that were clawing at his fragile heart.

With all of the gentleness she could muster, she laid her lips against his neck just below his ear. She felt him tense in response but didn't stop. She gently skimmed her nose down the length of his neck to his shoulder and then slid it along the length of it before tracing the same path back again.

"Sakura-."

"Shh." She whispered as she pulled him backwards onto the bed repositioning them so that she hovered over him. Her lips lightly pressed to his in a sweet kiss designed to show him that she loved him, demons and all. When she pulled away his eyes were wide and shimmering with something similar to desperation. "Take what you need." She said softly as she caressed his face.

His hands reached up and gripped her biceps with enough force to leave bruises and she knew he'd heard the unspoken words in her heart. 'Let me love you. Take all of the light and warmth you need to exorcise the demons tormenting you.'

"Sakura." He breathed before he yanked her down to him and pressed his lips against hers. His lips were almost frantic as his tongue slipped out to tangle with hers. He rolled with her until he was hovering over her and slipped his own shirt off before he pulled off hers. She sighed as his fingertips feathered across her body touching as much skin as he could as his lips sucked on hers. Her own hands slid slowly and gently across the skin of his back caressing him with infinite tenderness. His hands quickly did away with the rest of their clothes and he shuddered as he settled between her legs his lips caressing her throat. He reached between her legs and coaxed her gently making her sigh and mew with pleasure until she was ready to receive him. As soon as he felt her readiness, he buried himself in her heat and she held him tightly as he moved inside of her. It was different from the other times they'd made love. For her, instead of an intense electric bolt of desire, it was a soft, warm flame. She was completely submissive to her lover, letting him take what he needed from her as she planted butterfly kisses along his chest and neck. He shuddered and groaned above her as he found his release and then collapsed on top of her totally spent.

Though she hadn't reached her peak, she was content as she caressed his sweat dampened skin. He shifted sliding his length out of her and rolled to the side wrapping his arms around her. "Thank you." He murmured softly.

"There's no need for that." She assured him as she stroked her fingers through his hair. Her lips pressed to his before she pulled away again and leaned her forehead against his. "I'm here for you."

He pressed gentle kisses to her nose, cheeks, forehead and lips before pulling her against his chest. He laid his cheek on top of her head and took a deep breath. She laid her hands on his chest and felt the beating of his heart under her palms. It was reassuring to her and made her feel closer to him. In these intimate moments, she felt like he was truly hers and hers alone.

"I love you Sasuke." She murmured pressing a kiss to his chest right over the center of his heart.

"I know." He replied. "Thank you."

She smiled and nuzzled his collar bone. "Go to sleep. I promise that I'll still be here in the morning."

He nodded and shifted even closer to her but didn't close his eyes. "Sakura. Tell me, why aren't you afraid of me?"

She blinked in surprise at his question and then sighed. "You dreamed about that day didn't you?" she said referring to the day that he'd nearly ripped her heart from her body. He didn't respond but she could tell from the look in his eye that she had hit the mark. "That's all in the past." She replied stroking her fingers through her hair. "I think I've told you before but I think I just instinctively knew that were severely wounded inside and not in your right mind." Lightly her fingertips traced over the muscles on his back as she continued. "I've seen it a lot actually. Especially with people like you who are very steady and confident, when they're hurt they close themselves off. They don't want to be touched, or even looked at in their weakened state. When people try to help them anyway, they react violently trying desperately to keep everyone away until they're recovered and stronger than before." She glanced at him. "You're the same."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Sakura." He murmured.

She smiled at him and sighed as she linked her fingers with his. "I've been thinking about it and I don't think that the Uchiha's had the curse of hatred, I think it's a curse to lose what you love."

The Uchiha looked at her raising a dark brow. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Sakura glanced at the ceiling. "Well, Obito was in love with Rin and loved Kakashi even though they didn't get along. He was by all means a healthy emotionally even after Madara first caught him. It wasn't until he arrived on that battle field and watched his best friend kill the girl he loved more than anyone that he lost his mind and his heart to the darkness. He became incredibly strong to punish the world for betraying him. It was his intense love and subsequent loss of that love that drove him to that power induced madness that seemed to plague the Uchiha clan." A little tear slid down her fact at the thought. "Itachi loved you and his village more than anything. His love was what drove him to slaughter your clan because he thought he was doing the right thing. How could he have known what Madara was planning?" she looked down at the last Uchiha in her arms tears welling in her eyes as she thought about him. "You were the same. You loved your brother more than anyone and he betrayed you. Your intense love was morphed into hatred. When Naruto, Kakashi and I began to wedge ourselves into your heart you desperately tried to force us out because you were afraid of being betrayed again, of losing everything again. You desperately wanted to become stronger so that you'd never have to experience that again. I'm guessing you were probably jealous of Naruto's ability to find that power as well without making all of the sacrifices you did." She gently stroked his cheek. "Maybe part of me realized that one of the reasons you were so desperate to kill me was because you loved me in some way. Killing me with your own hands would've rid your heart of the constant unease you felt about losing me the same way you'd lost your parents."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt his heart throb in his chest. She was right, he'd loved her for much longer than he'd realized. That's why he'd wanted her dead almost as badly as he wanted Naruto dead when he was drunk on hatred. It wasn't them he hated, it was himself. His inability to protect the ones he held dear. His hands reached for her and grasped her shoulders firmly as he pulled himself against her desperate for her warmth. For confirmation that one of the few people in this world that he loved and would likely ever love was here with him and wouldn't disappear. "Sakura." He murmured pressing his face to her shoulder. "Please…" he couldn't get out the words. They were stuck in his throat cutting off his oxygen, reminding him of his deepest fears.

"I'm not going to die before you." She assured him. His eyes widened as he lifted his face to stare into her emerald eyes. "I have to stay alive to protect this." She murmured laying her hand on his heart. "I'll never let you fall into the shadows again. Whenever you need me, I'll be by your side."

A little smirk touched his lips. "You can be so annoying sometimes." He muttered.

Her eyes widened and she blushed. "What the Hell!?" she exclaimed. "Here I am bearing my soul to you and you-"

He cut her off with a passionate kiss as he moved to straddle her pinning her up against the headboard as his fingers dove into her hair feeling a little more of the burden on his shoulders and the pain in his heart reseeding. His hands slid down to her neck as he broke away for air. "Don't stop." He demanded. "Don't stop annoying me for the rest of my life." His lips descended on hers again as he pinned her hands to the wooden headboard and nipped at her throat. He was beginning to feel like himself again thanks to her words, her love, her devotion. Her open heart was showering him with light and warmth and he drank it in like a man dying of thirst in the desert. He spread her legs apart and pulled her down onto his hard length drinking in her gasp of surprise and then her moan of pleasure. He pulled her closer to him wrapping his arms around her waist as he thrust into her savoring the sensation of her nails digging into his back and how her hands tugged at his hair. This time, when he found his release, she did as well and they came together in an explosion of light. He sighed and shifted away from her gently laying her down before he settled down next to her choosing to wrap his arm around her waist and curl himself against her instead of facing the wall. She fell asleep within minutes wrapped in his arms and he savored the sensation. His fingers lightly trailed over her cheeks and through her hair as he planted soft kisses on her shoulders. As his fingers slipped up to her back, he gently traced the Uchiha family crest onto her bare skin. His eyes widened at the motion and then a soft smile touched his lips. "Sakura Uchiha." He murmured softly before he finally drifted asleep where images of the pink haired medic in his arms dancing under the cherry blossoms with the Uchiha crest on her back as she smiled at him reaching out for him to join her swirled in his head. He'd had the dream before but unlike the other times, he accepted her invitation and danced with her until they were both exhausted and tumbled to the ground together laughing.

"You seem to be feeling better." Sakura noted as they sat together sipping on tea and nibbling on rice balls the next morning. "Did you have a good dream?"

He glanced at her and smirked at the little blush that came to her cheeks at his gaze. He reached out and tapped her in the middle of her forehead. "Something like that." He said before he finished his own wrapping the rest for later and stowing them in his bag. "Come on. Let's get going."

"Right!" she said getting to her feet and jogging a little to catch up to him. He stopped and reached out his hand to hers.

"Slow down, you're not afraid I'll leave you behind are you?" he asked smiling at her.

He received a brilliant smile in return, the kind that mad his heart beat just a little faster as she laced her fingers through his. "No. Not anymore." She replied before the pair of them walked away leaving the village behind them.

 **P.S. A thousand pardons for taking so long to get this chapter out. Like I said before, I've got a lot on my plate and this story has been giving me major writers block as I've tried to come up with a plot for it to follow. I'm still not entirely sure of where this is going but I did like this chapter. I hope you all enjoy and sorry again for the wait. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long but no promises. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura was surprised just how hated Sasuke was as they made their way across The Land of Fire. It was evident that the further away from The Leaf Village they traveled the less he was trusted. It made her a little uneasy and angry but he took the dirty looks and refusals of services or goods in stride never showing a flicker of dissatisfaction. They eventually arrived in a small village near the edge of The Land of Fire and Sakura immediately sensed that something was off as the villagers studied the pair of shinobi carefully whispers quickly spreading and children vanishing from the streets.

"Sasuke," she murmured moving a little closer to her companion's side.

"I know." He replied before she got a chance to finish her thought. "Something is off."

The pair tensed reflexively as a large group of villagers descended on them forming a lose circle around the leaf ninja. Sakura's hands balled into fists and Sasuke's hand moved towards his katana as the circle tightened.

"We're just traveling through, we don't mean any harm." Sakura said studying the eyes of the villagers. They didn't seem angry or hateful, just… Desperate.

A middle aged woman stepped forward, her light brown hair was pulled back into a lose pony tail and she wore semi-formal robes. "Are you Sakura Haruno?" the woman asked.

The pink haired medic's posture relaxed slightly even as Sasuke's stiffened further. "Yes I am." She replied.

"I thought so. Come with me." The woman said turning to head down the street.

"Wait! Why? What's this about?" Sakura demanded. "I'm not just going to follow because you told me to."

Several members of the crowd moved producing weapons. Startling the pair of ninja. "There is no time to waste." The woman insisted. "Please follow me Sakura, otherwise we will have to take you by force."

"Like Hell you will." Sasuke growled moving to stand in front of his companion protectively.

"Who are you?" the woman inquired her tone sharp.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha." The raven haired man replied his tone dark.

"I see. Is she your captive?" she asked her glance flickering between the two shinobi. "I'm sure you could spare her for a few moments."

"I'm not his captive!" Sakura shot back. "We're traveling together. Just tell me what you want! This whole situation is ridiculous!" she exclaimed her cheeks coloring a little.

"You have three seconds to come with me or else the men will take you by force and kill the rouge ninja with you." The woman spat her eyes fierce.

"Sasuke." Sakura murmured glancing at her partner.

"Let's go with her. None of these guys could lay a scratch on either of us, but it would be best to lay low like Kakashi told us." He murmured.

She nodded and quickly followed the woman with Sasuke by her side constantly searching the crowd for any signs that one of the men might attack. The woman led them to the grandest house in the village quickly ushering them inside and then instructing them to wait for her to return.

"What do you think?" Sakura asked Sasuke as they glanced around the large room.

"I'm really not sure what to think." The Uchiha admitted. "This whole situation seems strange to me."

The door slid open and the woman bowed. "Please go inside Lady Sakura and her companion. Lord Akira is waiting."

The two shinobi cautiously stepped inside and were surprised to see a thin middle aged man lying on a futon in the middle of the floor with a young woman a little older than themselves kneeling beside him. A mask covered the bottom half of her face and the face of the man.

"Lady Sakura?" the young woman asked cautiously.

"Yes. What is it?" the medic answered.

"Lord Akira has been ill for some time now. Nothing we've done seems to work and moving him is too dangerous. None of the doctor's we've met have been able to heal him. If you are indeed Sakura Haruno, you might be able to save him." The young woman's eyes shimmered with tears as she looked at the pink haired medic. "Please save him!"

Sakura took a deep breath. "I'll see what I can do, but first, I need to know why we were stopped the way that we were."

The woman cringed. "I apologize for that. It's actually because Lord Akira is the only strong warrior we have in this village. Before he became strong, our village was often attacked by rouge ninja and bandits. We were afraid that if word got out that he was sick, that we'd be attacked."

Sasuke sighed. "That's all well and good but potentially dangerous. Most people like that and even other ninja's would've taken that challenge head on and slaughtered your little militia without a second thought."

"I know." The woman murmured her head lowering.

"In any case, let me take a look at him." Sakura said moving forward. "What are his symptoms?"

"Muscle spasms, weakness, fatigue, and a fever that just won't stay down no matter what we do." The woman explained. "He also has moments where his chakra will go out of control and cause earthquakes at random."

"So he's an earth style chakra user?" Sakura asked as she began to examine the man's body noting strange orange colored bruises. "What's with the mask?" she asked.

"Lord Akira suggested it before he became too weak to talk." The young woman explained. "He said something about it possibly being a chakra centric illness that was highly contagious."

Sakura's brow furrowed as she pulled the man's mask down and gently pulled his jaw open. Her eyes widened and she quickly turned slamming her palms into Sasuke's chest sending him flying through the open door and tumbling into the next room.

"Ouch!" the Uchiha hissed clutching the spots where he was certain two perfect Sakura sized palm prints existed on his skin. "What the Hell, Sakura!"

"Don't you dare come in here!" she snarled her eyes glinting dangerously at the Uchiha before she slammed the door shut and began barking orders to the young woman. "I need a basin of hot water and all of the medicinal herbs you can get your hands on!" she snapped as she quickly pulled her hair back, slipped on a pair of latex gloves and tied a mask around her face.

"Yes mam! Whatever you need!" the young woman squeaked a little frightened by the pink haired medic's sudden change in attitude.

Sakura ignored her however as her hands glowed green searching for the source of the devastating infection. "Got you!" she hissed as her hands stopped at a weeping wound on his abdomen hovering right above one of his main chakra points. The woman returned with the requested items and she quickly scribbled instructions onto a piece of paper and gave it to her. "Follow those directions exactly." She instructed. "It's the ingredients needed for the medication. Is there anyone here who's already been exposed to him that has very little or no chakra?" she asked.

"A couple of the guards and a maid." The woman replied. "Why?"

"Bring them here. I'll need them to help restrain him." She said.

"Restrain him?" the woman repeated her doe eyes wide.

Sakura nodded. "Yes. He's contracted a very dangerous bacteria that feeds on chakra ravaging the body in the process." She explained. "It's related to the chakra virus that's famous for destroying shinobi. In fact it's harsher on the body, however it's also a bacteria which means an antibiotic can be made to counter it. It's likely he'll regain his powers too with only the effects that staying in bed for so long left behind." She said as she washed the area around the wound. "This is the where most of the bacteria is centered. In order for him to recover, I need to drain as much of this as I can. I need help to hold him down while I do that."

"Ok. I'll be right back." The woman said rushing out of the room.

Within minutes, she arrived with two strong looking men and an older woman with her. "Excellent." She said as they entered. After explaining the procedure, they took their places and Sakura moved to position gauze and a pan to collect the drainage around the wound. "Alright, here we go. Hold him down not matter what. If he struggles, he'll drive my scalpel into his intestine and then there will be no way to save his life." The people around her stared in surprise but she was unfazed by it. "I don't care if you have to break his legs and arms to keep him down. I can heal those in a heartbeat." They nodded and she jerked her own head as they held him down. With a quick but precise movement, she slid the blade across her patent's skin and a foul odor filled the air as a thick, yellow, orange fluid burst from the wound and began to drain. Sakura nodded in satisfaction and coaxed the buildup of deadly bacteria from the wound and the surrounding blood using her own healing chakra.

The older woman from before poked her head into the room. "Miss Haruno, I apologize but your companion would like to know what's going on." She murmured.

"Tell him that it would be best if he left this house for now. I'll be done soon." She replied as she continued to work.

"May I ask why?" the woman asked.

"This bacteria is very potent. The more chakra a person has, the more susceptible they are to it. His chakra levels are off the charts and though I have medication prepared, it would still take him out for a few days. He's the kind of person who hates showing weakness to anyone and being venerable like that when he still has so many enemies is just too dangerous." The pink haired medic explained as she finished the procedure and moved to inject the medication she'd made into his blood stream.

"Doesn't that mean you're in danger as well?" the woman exclaimed.

Sakura shrugged. "He needed to be treated. Also, the amount of chakra I have pales in comparison to my companion. I'll probably be fine. Besides, I could care less about what happens to me, as long as he's healthy I'll be fine." The woman nodded a knowing gleam in her eyes before she bowed and left the room. She dressed the wound and then gave her three assistants a dose of the medication to take just in case they began to show symptoms before saving a fourth dose for herself. After thanking her helpers, she cleaned the man's body thoroughly and asked that his bedding be changed.

"There, he should be well enough to move around in about two days." She said as she wrote down a series of instructions for his follow up care. "He won't be back to full strength for at least a week though."

"Thank you so much." The young woman murmured bowing low. "We are in your debt." She handed a bag containing a fair amount of money to her. "Please accept this as a token of our gratitude."

Sakura blinked. "It's too much."

The young woman shook her head. "That's very kind of you, but please take it. We caused you and your companion so much trouble and it's what we were going to pay to send for a medical ninja anyway."

The medic sighed. "Very well then. Thank you." She replied taking the gift. "I'll be traveling for quite a while longer but if you ever have trouble with that illness or anything like that, please contact The Leaf Village. They'll be able to get in contact with me."

The young woman nodded. "Thank you very much. Have a safe journey. We cannot thank you enough."

Sakura bowed and walked out of the estate giving one last wave before she closed the gate behind her. A sigh escaped her lips and she rolled her shoulders tapping them lightly with her fists as she finally began to feel how tired she was. Her eyes glanced upward and she figured by the position of the sun that was hanging low in the sky that she'd been working for nearly three hours straight.

"That was a very long detour." She muttered.

"Yes it was." Came a low masculine voice from behind her and she nearly jumped as Sasuke materialized beside her.

"Jeeze! Don't do that!" she exclaimed. "You scared me so bad!"

"What was that all about?" he asked. "Why did you want me to leave?"

Sakura sighed. "The illness he had was very contagious." She replied. "You in particular would have been especially susceptible to it."

He lifted a brow at that and then shrugged. "Well you are the expert in this area." He admitted. "Are you ready to get going?" he said handing her a small bundle that contained two rice balls and some dried fish.

She nodded as she quickly ate the food. "Yeah. It would be best to slip out of here quietly after all of that noise that they made when we arrived."

Sasuke nodded. "Agreed. Let's move out." And with that they took to the rooftops, then the trees and vanished into the twilight.

%#%

Two days later, Sasuke frowned as he studied his pink haired companion from his bed roll. They had crossed over into The Land of Goblins a small nation that bordered The Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning and this morning he had strangely awoken first. They were sleeping under the stars since most of the people in the small nation were afraid of the Uchiha which was inconvenient but manageable. His only regret was that she was suffering because of his past actions.

He slipped out from under his blanket and crept forward his frown deepening as he noticed she was shivering violently under her blankets and appeared much paler than normal. "Sakura." He called out softly reaching out to brush the blush colored locks from her face. His fingertips brushed her forehead and his eyes widened as he felt the intense temperature difference. He flattened his palm across her forehead and hissed. "She's got a fever. It's high too."

Sakura groaned in her sleep at his touch and shifted towards him. As she did so, an empty hypodermic vial slipped from her fingers and bumped his knee. He picked it up carefully and read the inscription on the side. _CEB antibacterial injection_ it read in Sakura's neat handwriting.

"What is CEB?" he muttered as he capped the needle and slipped into his shoulder bag. "Sakura! Wake up!" he demanded shaking her.

She groaned once more and she winced before opening her eyes. "Sasuke?" she croaked her emerald eyes dull and hazy.

"Sakura! What's wrong with you?" he demanded. The pink haired medic cringed and sat up pressing a hand to her forehead as she did so. "I'm pretty sure I just contracted the illness that man had the other day." She replied. "It's no big deal. Let's get going, I'm sorry for sleeping so late." With her brow furrowed she stood up and then immediately swayed. Sasuke hissed in frustration and jumped to his feet catching her just before she fell.

"Idiot!" he growled. "Will you knock it off? You don't have to prove anything to me! Just tell me what you need."

"I'll be fine." She assured him pushing him away even as she swayed again.

"Sakura Haruno!" Sasuke growled holding her firmly by the shoulder. His eyes bored into hers and after a moment she sighed in defeat.

"Sorry Sasuke." She murmured before she slumped in his arms unconscious.

"Annoying." He muttered as he laid her gently down on the ground. "I almost miss how she used to cling to me when we were genin. At least in situations like this." He said as he moved quickly moved around the camp packing both of their things. When he was finished he scooped her up into his arms and began to move towards the nearest village with smooth but quick strides.

Hours later he gritted his teeth as he felt her temperature rising against his chest and landed just outside the gates of the village. He immediately knew that this village wouldn't be welcoming towards him as he observed the strong anti-government messages scrawled on the walls of the buildings. He felt hateful, angry eyes on him as he moved through the streets in search of an inn. He finally found one and stepped inside his grip on Sakura tightening as her shivers became more violent. The inn keeper, an old haggard looking woman glared at him as he neared the counter her eyes focusing on his purple eye.

"Do you have a room available?" he asked.

"You're that Uchiha scum." The woman snarled. "I don't have a room for the likes of you. A murderer who got off without even a slap on the wrist because his Sensei became the Hokage."

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he reached with his chakra to feel the chakra of his companion who was tucked snugly under his cloak against his body and frowned when he felt hers shifting erratically in reaction to the infection her body was fighting.

"I understand." He murmured. "Is there another place nearby that I could find a room in perhaps?"

"There's no one in this town that would allow the likes of you to stay." She sneered.

Sakura groaned and reached out in her half-conscious state struggling to move his cloak to reveal herself. "Sasuke?" she whimpered.

"Shh." He replied shifting her in his arms and parting the cloak for her so that she could see him. "I'm right here. Save your strength." His face softening slightly, his voice low and gentle.

She reached up and touched his face with shaking fingertips her expression relaxing for a moment before she hissed in pain and clutched at his shoulders. A small cry left her throat before she went limp in his arms losing consciousness again.

"Sakura!" he exclaimed. "Hang in there."

"Sakura." The woman repeated her eyes widening. "As in Sakura Haruno? The medical ninja from the leaf? What in the Hell did you do to her you black hearted bastard!"

Sasuke tensed and internally cringed at the woman's words even as he fought to keep his face a mask of indifference. He knew the woman wasn't talking about all of the things that he'd done to her over the years but he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt over it. "I believe she's suffering from an illness she contracted from a man she treated a couple of days ago." His grip tightened on the precious woman in his arms. "If you know her name then I'm sure you know about how much good she has done in this world. Please, I'm begging you, let us stay here so she can regain her strength." He said bowing as deeply as he could without disturbing Sakura. "You can do whatever you want with me, so please…"

The woman's eyes narrowed and then softened slightly. Her eyes scanned the empty entrance hall making sure it was still devoid of witnesses before she stepped out from behind the counter. "Follow me." She said shortly.

Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat both in relief and surprise as he obediently followed the inn keeper down the hall to the last room. She entered ahead of him and laid out a futon.

"Here." She snapped.

"Thank you." Sasuke replied moving towards the bedding and laying Sakura down with infinite tenderness on the soft sleeping pad. He moved her sweat dampened hair from her face and gritted his teeth as she moaned and clutched at the blankets as he pulled them over her body.

"She doesn't look good." The inn keeper said softly from where she stood in the doorway. "I'll be back." She glared at the Uchiha. "If you try anything, I'll make sure you don't make it out of this town alive."

Sasuke nodded once and moved his attention back to the rose haired medic. "Damn it." He hissed. Medical ninjutsu wasn't his specialty by a long shot and he rarely got ill himself. Even when he did, he'd always had Orochimaru, and Kabuto to heal him during his training days and Karin while he was roaming the world after that. The only things he knew to do were what he could recall from watching others. He turned from her and focused on her bag, if there was any sort of written instructions on how to care for someone, it was likely there. He unzipped the pack and saw two books there. The one he recognized from their trip to Suna, the other was green colored and had both her name and Lady Tsunade's names written on the spine.

"I guess I'll start with this one." He muttered as he opened it up. His eyes widened as he read the first page, medical jargon and instructions for a complex medical procedure and preparing medication bouncing around in his brain. He gritted his teeth, his fingers tightening a little on the book. "I don't understand a damn thing!"

The inn keeper walked into the room and laid a basin of water next to the futon along with several towels. Two bowls of soup and water were also set down beside him. She glanced at him and her brow furrowed. "What's wrong with her boy?" she asked.

Sasuke studied the woman unsure of how to answer her or even if he should, given the obvious hatred she seemed to feel towards her.

The woman sighed and knelt at the medical ninja's side. "I'll be honest, I don't like or trust you snake boy but I owe a debt of gratitude to this girl. She saved my oldest son a few years back with that medical stuff she's so good at." She glanced over at him. "What is she to you?"

Sasuke glanced down at the sleeping medic his heart twisting in his chest when her brow furrowed in pain and sweat trickled down her face. His hand balled into a fist before he relaxed his hand and took a towel from the small pile, wet it in the basin and gently began to wipe the sweat from her face and neck while he struggled to come up with an answer that would appease the distrustful woman.

To his surprise the older woman suddenly chuckled and stood up. "It would seem that fighting is the only thing you're good at. Did she take any medicine before you came here?" she asked. He nodded thinking back to the needle in his bag. The inn keeper nodded. "In that case, she probably won't die or get any worse. You'll just need to wait for the medicine to run its course." Sasuke breathed a little sigh of relief. He'd figured that was probably the case but hearing it from someone else reassured him. The woman snickered at the change in his expression. "You know, you remind me a little of that blonde kid that was with her the last time I saw her. The way you're hovering over her like that."

Sasuke's brow twitched. "Don't compare me to that idiot." He snarled under his breath.

The woman laughed out loud and shook her head. "I'll give you a hint. Keep her comfortable and do your best to get her to eat and drink. If you need anything go get it yourself. I'm going back to the front desk."

"Thank you very much." Sasuke said turning to bow to their host.

The woman nodded and stepped through the door. "You're not how I expected you to be." She said softly before sliding the door closed.

The raven haired young man breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to his companion. He went back to his task of wiping the sweat from her body and frowned when he touched the fabric of her clothes and realized it was soaked with sweat. He went to her bag and searched through it frowning at the lack of coverage her clothing offered. "Women." He muttered under his breath before he dug in his own bag and produced a long sleeved back shirt. With gentle but quick movements, he striped her frowning as he noted a few strange orange bruises on her body. He quickly washed her as best he could before he redressed her in his shirt. As he studied her, he couldn't help but feel a strange swelling in his heart as he noted the Uchiha crest now adorning her body. Before he really had time to focus on the feeling though, her emerald eyes opened.

"Sasuke…" she moaned her eyes still hazy but tinged with fear. "Where are you?" she whimpered her hands shifting under the blankets.

"I'm right here." He assured her grabbing her hand.

Her eyes seemed to focus a little at his words and she turned towards his voice. Her gaze settled on his face and a frown touched her features. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He shook his head in disbelief. "Sakura, you're sick. Can you tell me what's wrong?"

She blinked and then sighed. "Right. I was infected. I gave myself medication already so I should be fine in a day or two. I'm not contagious either." She gripped his hand as her muscles twitched in reaction to the illness. "I'm sorry for being such a burden."

"Quiet!" Sasuke hissed. "Don't talk like that. Can you eat or drink something?"

The medic shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know. So tired." She murmured her eyelids drooping.

Sasuke's heart rate quickened as he nearly knocked over the bowl of soup in his haste to pick it up. "Please try?" he urged tugging on her arm to help her sit up and pressing the bowl to her lips.

She took a couple sips and then turned her head away. "I'm sorry. I can't." she said softly too weak to shove the food away.

Sasuke's jaw clenched in frustration as he reluctantly laid the bowl down. He then wrapped his arms around her and help her tightly.

"Sasuke?" Sakura murmured weakly. "What's wrong?"

"I hate seeing you like this." He admitted.

The pink haired medic sighed and laid her hand gently on his waist too weak to hug him back. "I'll be fine in a day or two." She assured him. "Don't worry about it. I'm sorry you have to take care of me."

"Shut up!" he hissed holding her tighter. "Don't apologize. You're always taking care of me, let me take care of your for a change."

"Sasuke." She murmured softly laying her head on his shoulder. "I love you." She whispered in his ear.

"I know." He replied gently laying her back down on the futon. Someone her words had calmed his troubled heart. Even as sick as she was, she was helping him. Did her charity have no end? He was supposed to be the one caring for her. "Rest." He said softly brushing her hair out of her face. "I'll watch over you tonight."

She smiled at him, the sweet angelic smile that managed to warm even the darkest corners of his heart, before her eyes closed. He watched as her breathing quickly slowed and evened out. When her was certain she was sleeping he smiled gently at her and leaned down brushing his lips gently across her forehead. "Annoying girl. This time, I'll be the one to take care of you."

"So that's how it is." The older woman said as she walked into the room carrying a tray of rice balls. "She's your lover?"

Sasuke looked down at the pink haired medic and for some reason felt the urge to say what was in his heart. "She's more than that." He said softly. "She's the most precious person in the world to me."

The woman sighed and lowered her head. "I appear to have misjudged you."

Sasuke shook his head. "No. I am a black hearted bastard like you said."

The inn keeper shook her head. "Not at all." She stood and walked to the door. "She could never love a man like that. Take good care of her."

Sasuke nodded. "I will."

 **Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! Life got crazy and writer's block was kicking my trash, but I'm back and hopefully updates will come much faster now. Thanks for sticking with me!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: There is some trigger material in the middle of this chapter. Feel free to skip over it and go straight to the citrusy goodness at the end if you so desire. Because this site doesn't have page numbers, I can't exactly tell how far down it starts and then ends. I apologize in advance if it bothers anyone.**

 **#$#**

Sakura winced and let out a small groan as she fought through the illness induced haze towards consciousness.

"What's this weight on my stomach?" she muttered to herself as she shifted to try to sit up. Her eyes fluttered open and she focused her attention on where it felt the weight was centered. Her eyes widened as she realized the weight was in fact Sasuke's head resting there, his replacement arm loosely gripping a now dry cloth flung across her middle while his good hand was resting in her own. His breathing was slow and even, his ink colored locks in disarray, his eyes closed with dark circles under them. She reached with her free hand and gently stroked a stray raven spike, smoothing it into place.

"Did you really exhaust yourself like this over me?" she murmured feeling his exhaustion through her chakra tinged touch. A little smile touched her lips at the thought before she decided that sleeping bent over like that wouldn't be good for him. Carefully and slowly both from the desire to let him continue sleeping, and her own tiredness from the illness that was still working its way out of her system, she shifted him until he was lying beside her on the futon.

"You really must be tired if this didn't wake you." She murmured as she pulled the blanket over both of them and snuggled close to the Uchiha breathing in his familiar scent and basking in his warmth. She shifted closer and gently pressed her lips to the tip of his chin.

"Thank you Sasuke." She murmured. "I love you so much."

He shifted in his sleep and slipped an arm around her waist and she closed her eyes with a contented sigh before letting herself be swept back into a peaceful sleep.

%&%

"Thank you so much for allowing us to stay here." Sakura said as she bowed to the innkeeper the two days later.

"Anything for you Miss. Haruno." The woman replied lowering her own head. "You will always be welcome here." She looked the medic over with a slightly wary eye. "Are you sure you're well enough to travel? You were just only able to get out of bed yesterday, you're more than welcome to stay if you'd like."

Sakura raised her hands and shook her head. "Oh no. Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine. We've stayed in this place too long already."

The woman sighed. "If you say so." She glanced back at Sasuke who was waiting a couple of steps back from the pink haired medic adjusting the bag on his shoulder. "Keep taking good care of her Uchiha." She barked.

Sasuke nodded and then bowed. "Thank you for letting us stay." He said echoing Sakura's words.

"Tch!" The innkeeper snapped though there was a touch of warmth in her eyes. "Just get out of my inn."

The pair of ninja nodded and quickly left the establishment and took to the roof tops just as the sky began to lighten. As soon as they were a couple of miles outside the village, they landed on the path and began to walk at a more leisurely pace. Sakura stopped for a moment and mewed as she stretched a contented sigh leaving her lips moments later. "This feels so good!" she exclaimed. "I hated being in bed for so long."

Sasuke studied her, the corners of his mouth turned down slightly. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked. "You were very sick. We could have easily stayed another day or two if you needed."

Sakura glanced over at him her gaze studying his mismatched eyes. "I'm just fine Sasuke." She assured him. "I'm sorry for worrying you. We can go faster if you want to make up for the lost time."

The Uchiha let out a long suffering sigh before his gaze hardened slightly. "We're not on a strict time table or anything so don't worry about that. How can we make up for time we haven't lost?"

The pink haired medic blinked in surprise and then offered him a slightly embarrassed smile. "Right. I forgot. I'm so used to going on missions."

Sasuke's expression softened slightly and moved forward gently touching her jaw with his fingertips. "I've said it before, you don't need to prove anything to me." He said looking into her jade eyes. "If you need to take things at a slower pace or if you start to feel unwell, let me know."

The medic blushed and then glanced away. "I don't want to burden you." She said softly.

The dark haired shinobi shook his head once before he leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly against hers making her squeak in surprise and then sigh. He pulled away and tapped her in the middle of her forehead. "You're not a burden." He said simply. "Let's go. We have quite a ways before we reach the next village."

Sakura smiled and nodded falling in step behind him. Her fingers gently brushed his and he glanced at her before linking their fingers together giving her a gentle squeeze.

%&%

In the trees above the pair of leaf shinobi, two pairs of eyes watched them closely before vanishing.

"So that was Sasuke Uchiha?" the owner of the first pair asked as he leaned against a tree that lined the main road. He was a man of average height with short, spiky, brown hair and light blue eyes. He was dressed in black and orange with a headband bearing the emblem for the hidden stones with an angry slash through it on his forehead.

"Yes. Without a doubt." His companion a slightly taller man with fiery red hair that was pulled into a low pony tail and strange green and red replied. "Didn't you see his eyes?" He wore black and orange as well but his band bearing the same mark with a slash through it was tied around the bicep of his right arm.

The dark haired man nodded. "It's true, however all of our intel said that he was alone. He clearly had a woman with him."

The red head nodded. "Indeed, a very pretty woman." He licked his lips.

The dark haired man chuckled darkly. "Yes she was." He murmured. "Our mission is simply to kill him right? We don't have any orders on what do to with any companion he might have."

The read head smirked. "Are you planning on having dessert before or after we dispose of that Uchiha scum?"

"After." The dark haired man replied. "It looked like the two were rather close. Watching him die would probably crush her. I love it when they cry you know."

The red head nodded. "I agree. Women's tears taste so wonderful."

"Well, shall we get going?" the dark haired man asked.

"Yes." The red head replied straightening. "I can't wait to see if the carpet matches the drapes."

#^#

After a few hours of walking, Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he walked with Sakura along the road that eventually would lead them to the Lad of Lightning. They were less than three hours away from the nearest village but the short stretch of road before them was strangely empty. Something had been prickling his senses. An ominous feeling that made his muscles tense and his eyes shift. He knew the feeling well, he was being stalked though he didn't know by who or why. He gently squeezed Sakura's hand and she glanced over at him. Her loose posture immediately hardened as she took in the hardness of his expression watching as his onyx eye shifted to blood red.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

"We're being followed." He replied. "Be on your guard." There was a glint of steel off to their right and the pair of seasoned shinobi immediately leapt into the air avoiding the flurry of kunai.

"Who's there!?" Sakura demanded her brow creasing with irritation. "Show yourselves!"

"Sakura! Look out!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"What?" she questioned glancing around. She went to take a step towards him and her eyes widened as she realized she couldn't move her feet. "What the-" she exclaimed glaring down at her feet that were trapped in the earth.

"Looks like we caught the little mouse." A voice came from behind her. "All we have to do now is kill the annoying snake and we can have her all to ourselves."

"What was that?" Sasuke replied his eyes flashing dangerously.

A dark haired ninja and a red haired ninja materialized in front of them. "It means that once we kill you we're taking the girl." He said in a matter of face tone.

"I thought it was fairly obvious." Agreed the second, a dark haired man.

Sasuke's purple aura began to materialize as his anger flared. "Not on your life." He hissed as his hand went to his katana.

"You can't stop us." The dark haired man said shifting into an offensive position. "We have orders to take your head and we haven't failed a mission yet."

"Exactly." The red haired man replied. He vanished and then materialized behind Sakura and smirked as he reached in front of her and flicked the clasp of her cloak open, letting the bulky garment pool at her feet. He pressed his face to her hair and breathed deeply before his abnormally long tongue slipped from between his lips and tasted the shell of her ear. Sakura shrieked in protest and did her best to lash at out at man with her hands even as a hiss of frustration left her lips at her immobilization. "She tastes and smells wonderful." He sighed as his eyes raked over her figure from behind. "That cloak hid a lot from view. Her body is beautiful as well." He said reaching out to stroke her bottom making the girl growl and shift away from his touch as best she could.

Black flames erupted from Sasuke's palms and a log erupted in to flames as the man performed a replacement jutsu with less than a second to spare.

"Looks like I found a nerve." The red head remarked from where he stood in a nearby tree looking down at the ink haired avenger. "I was told that Sasuke Uchiha didn't give a damn about anybody but himself. Maybe you just don't want someone else playing with your toy?" he smirked. He laughed and then gasped as Sasuke appeared behind him and slammed a lightning shrouded fist into his back sending him crashing to the ground below.

"Keep your filthy hands off of her you swine!" he snarled landing lithely in front of the pink haired medic. He turned slightly towards her while keeping his eye on the enemy. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah." Sakura replied pulling her gloves on. Her brow furrowed and her hand glowed green. "Cha!" she exclaimed as she slammed her chakra infused fist into the ground breaking the earth binding her feet. She leapt into the air kicking the last of it off and landed beside her companion. "These two creeps are going to get it." She growled.

"Damn that was close." The red head said standing to his feet. "If I hadn't hardened my skin when I did, I would've been a goner." He said brushing the dirt from his clothes.

"Did he say harden his back?" Sakura said. "Just like Kakazu…"

"So you've heard of my great uncle?" the red head said stepping out of the crater his body had made.

Sakura nodded. "I was there when he died." She said her eyes narrowing. "My sensei was the one who delivered the finishing blow."

The red head lifted a brow at that. "How interesting." He mused flexing his hand. "Then you know full well how effective this jutsu is."

"Sasuke," she whispered. "I didn't fight Kakazu but Kakashi did and the guy nearly killed him." Her eyes narrowed. "When his skin hardens, he's impervious to lightning attacks." She glanced at her lover. "Unless you manage to catch him off guard, your chidori won't work." Sasuke nodded and shifted slightly pulling more on his fire nature than his primary lightning letting the black flames crackle to life in his hands.

"It seems you're more than just arm candy." The man with dark hair said moving towards Sakura. "I'd rather you didn't bruise that beautiful body of yours so just sit still until this is over ok?" he said weaving signs.

"Yeah right!" She exclaimed shifting into a defensive position with her fists raised. "I'm not just going to sit here and let you kill Sasuke!"

"Human statue jutsu." The man said focusing his attention on the pink haired medic.

Her eyes widened as what seemed like wet plaster sprung up from the ground at her feet and enveloped her entire body encasing her in stone making any movement impossible. "Sasuke." She rasped through lips that could hardly move.

"Sakura!" Sasuke exclaimed reaching towards her gritting his teeth as he felt cool stone beneath his fingers. "Bastard!" he hissed at the dark haired man. "What did you do to her?"

"She truly is a work of art." The man mused with a sigh. "That expression of surprise and fear really turns me on."

"I know right?" the red head replied standing beside his partner touching his chin.

"Answer my question!" The Uchiha snarled as a trio of shriken flew from his fingers. The man deflected two but the third grazed his cheek drawing blood.

"I'm just keeping her safe and sound." The dark haired man replied. "I wouldn't want her to hurt that sexy body of hers trying to protect you or anything."

"Yeah. She'll be battered enough when we're done with her." The red haired man said with a wink.

Sasuke's control snapped and he flew forward, sword in hand with lightning crackling in the blade and sliced at the dark haired man who barely avoided the deadly blow. The Uchiha hissed as he felt the sensation a blade slicing through the flesh of his side and the familiar sensation of blood seeping through his clothes.

"That was careless of you Sasuke Uchiha." The man remarked licking the blood from a blade attached to his middle finger tip. "To think something as trivial as a woman could make the great war hero lose his focus like this."

"Don't blame the guy too much." The red head replied. "The girl is pretty hot. I wouldn't want to share her either."

"If you just give us your head, we'll let her go." The dark haired man said with a smirk.

Sasuke took a deep breath as he struggled to calm himself. He couldn't protect Sakura if he got himself severely hurt or killed. Being a reckless idiot got people killed, except for Naruto of course. The Uchiha wasn't naïve enough to believe he had that idiot's luck either. He back flipped to stand in front of his companion again and took a deep breath. "If I actually believed you would do as you say, I'd gladly give it to you." He said. "However, I can tell that you're lying so instead, I'm going to make you regret even thinking about laying a hand on her." He promised his opponents. He drew his katana and flashed forward meeting them head on. The sound of metal on metal and the occasional spark from sword hitting kunai echoed through the trees as the war hero clashed with the rouge ninja. He funneled lightning into the blade of his weapon as his focus zeroed in on the dark haired man following his movements at super human speed. To the man's credit, he was very fast but not as fast as Rock Lee. Sasuke pushed taking advantage of an opening as the man raised his hands to form signs for an earth attack and jabbed his sword forward impaling his enemy through the chest. Knowing the blow was fatal he whirled towards the man's partner and was surprised to see him gone. His surprise quickly turned to terror as Sakura's gasp told him exactly where the man had gone.

"Stay back!" the man demanded pressing a kunai to her throat. "Take another step and I'll slit her pretty throat."

Sasuke froze his heart in his chest. He didn't dare breathe as a vision of himself with a knife at his throat held by his sensei flashed before his vision.

" _Now you're stuck with an impossible choice." The copy ninja explained, his tone harsh as the metal of the blade touched his throat._

Sweat trickled down his face as frustration and anger boiled within him. There was no way for this to end well for Sakura. She'd either die by the bastard's hands or the man would kill him and rape her. His hands clenched at the disgusting idea of both options. It was unacceptable! There had to be another way. The man snickered and lifted his free hand to stroke over Sakura's body brushing across her breasts before moving towards her core.

"Stop it!" he snarled. "Don't touch her!" he felt his heart breaking as Sakura did her best to hold her head high even as her body trembled and tears formed in her eyes.

"I don't think you're in any position to be making demands like that." The man replied with a smirk. He leaned forward and latched his lips onto her neck only inches above the knife and Sasuke felt tears prick his eyes even as a tear slid down Sakura's cheek.

"Leave her alone." Sasuke said his voice rough with emotion. "I'm begging you."

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed. "Behind you!"

He whirled just in time to deflect an attack from a second red head man. Focusing his chakra, he unleashed a wave of black flames and the man screamed as he fell to the earth. "Damn you!" he shrieked. Sasuke's gaze flickered to where the red head stood with the knife still to his beloved's throat. Sakura's brow was knit as the man's hands continued to roam but as Sasuke watched, it was with concentration more than disgust. Suddenly, she lifted her foot and slammed it into the ground in front of her cracking the earth.

"Fighting back?" the red head remarked lifting his head from where he'd been nibbling on her ear. "I like that." He purred. "But you might want to be careful." He reminded her as a little trickle of blood started from where the tip of the knife bit the skin.

Sasuke was about to leap when he noticed a chunk of rock about the size of jounin vest popped up into the air just behind the man. Sakura's determined green eyes met his and he immediately understood why she'd acted as she did. He activated his rinnigan and teleported trading places with the small boulder lightning crackling in his hand. His brow furrowed as he exercised more control over his chidori than he ever had before adjusting his power so that his hand passed completely through his opponent but didn't touch Sakura his teeth gritting and sweat running down his face at the effort.

"But… How…" the man gasped as the knife slipped from his fingers and he fell on his knees.

"Your fate was sealed the moment you laid your hands on her." Sasuke said darkly as he pulled his arm from the man's body. "Enjoy Hell." His enemy dealt with, he quickly flashed forward and caught Sakura as she fell forward. "Sakura! Are you alright?" he demanded his eyes widening at the smear of red on her throat. Her hand was pressed to where the knife had been glowing green as she quickly healed the cut.

"It wasn't deep." She assured him softly. "Do what you need to, I'm alright."

"Sakura." Sasuke said looking down at her face. "It's over."

Her eyes met his, mismatched red and purpled and shimmered as fresh tears welled there. "It's over?" she murmured her voice shaking.

"Yes. It's over." He repeated touching her face gently with his unbloodied hand.

Her hands left her neck and reached out griping the lapels of his cloak. "It's over." She repeated as the tears slipped down her face. "It's over." She said again her head crashing against his chest. "I… I…"

"Sakura?" he questioned softly. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"Sasuke." She whimpered. "I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?" he demanded gently pushing her away so he could look at her face. "If anyone should be apologizing, it's me."

"I couldn't do anything." She cried. "Not when they hurt you." She said running her hands that were now glowing green over the gash in his side. "I couldn't even stop them from... from touching me like that." She shuddered. "I'm so sorry." She said stepping away from him her hands running through her hair with shaking fingers. "I'm so disgusting right now. You probably can't stand to look at me."

His eyes widened and then narrowed as anger pulsed in his veins. The deaths he'd given the two rouge ninja's were too quick and painless. The wounds they'd left on his lover would surely take much more time to heal. Forcing the anger away so that he could better comfort her he reached towards her. "Sakura, it wasn't your fault." He said softly brushing his fingers across her cheek.

"Don't touch me." She said pulling away from him. "I feel so… dirty."

He gritted his teeth and reached out pulling her up and into his arms. When she resisted the contact, turning her head and flattening her palms against his chest the word "Please." Murmured with the weakest tone of voice he'd ever heard cross her lips, he released her. As gently as he could he patted her head and then turned towards the path again.

"Let's go. We can arrive at the village in less than two hours if we move a little faster." He reminded her. He glanced back and saw her nod once in agreement before he took to the trees with her close behind.

They moved in heavy silence and Sasuke struggled to keep his emotions in check as he glanced back at his rose haired companion her normally bright expression dull and lifeless. He was livid, seething with pure, unadulterated rage as the images of the rouge ninja touching her with their filthy hands replayed in his mind over and over again. With his sharringan activated for battled, he'd been able to see everything, how her heart was pounding, the tinges of fear and disgust in her chakra signature, the dark tinge of evil and lust in the chakra of the men the touched her. He'd seen how her muscles had trembled in fear and her eyes had pricked with tears. He was angry with himself for his inability to protect her and frustrated with her ludicrous ideas that she was somehow at fault, the she'd been dirtied by them. His desire to respect her wishes and give her the space she seemed to need at the moment was the only thing keeping him from carrying her to the nearest inn and forcing the memories from her mind using any means necessary.

"Sakura, we're here." He reminded her as she leapt past him nearly landing on the arch way that stood at the entrance to the village.

"Right. Sorry." She murmured dropping to the ground with him.

He glanced at her still disturbed by the lack of light in her eyes and sighed as he walked beside her into the small community.

Having been there previously on his journey, he led the way to an inn he was familiar with. The owner, a slightly rounded middle aged man nodded to the Uchiha as he entered and tossed the young man a room key.

"You're here again sooner than I expected." He acknowledged even as his gaze flickered to the young woman standing at the leaf shinobi's side. "You even have a companion this time."

Sasuke nodded and picked up a room service menu glancing over it quickly. He took a brush from the counter and quickly made a series of marks on it before handing it to the man.

"Eating in your room again?" the man said raising a brow. "You're more than welcome to eat in the lobby. You're well liked here."

The dark haired avenger nodded. "I'm sure. My companion here is still recovering from an illness, I'm afraid the trip here took a little more out of her than I'd hoped." It wasn't a lie, not completely any way. He was well aware that both her reflexes and her strength had not fully recovered yet. It was likely the reason she'd become trapped so easily, not that the fact made the terrible events that followed much easier to swallow.

"I see. That explains it." The man replied taking in Sakura's slightly messy appearance. "In that case, I won't keep you any longer. Get her taken care of, we'll bring the food shortly."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Sou." Sasuke said lowering his head slightly before tugging on Sakura's arm. "Let's go."

She stumbled after him as he led her up to the third floor of the inn and down the hall to the last room. He unlocked it and guided her inside before removing his cloak and bag, setting them on a low table in the room. He then walked over to the window and opened it slightly letting the slightly cooler air to enter the room, revealing the slowly darkening sky. With precision and natural grace that all Uchiha seemed to naturally possess, he laid out a pair of futons and then guided Sakura to one.

"I'm not tired." She insisted as he began removing the packs from her belt.

"Then what's wrong?" he asked standing in front of her. He frowned and his brown knit together as he studied her eyes. With slow, careful movements, he reached out and gently cupped her cheek in his hand. "You're eyes…" he murmured. "I haven't seen them like this since the war. I'd hoped that I'd never see them like this again." He bowed his jaw clenching as he struggled to reign in the flood of negative emotions surging within him. "Forgive me Sakura." He said, his voice thick with emotion.

"What are you talking about?" She replied blinking several times in confusion. "You have nothing-"

"But I do." He replied cutting her off. "I wasn't able to protect you and you were hurt. I'm so sorry."

She offered him a small smile though it didn't reach her eyes and shook her head. "I'm fine Sasuke, the cut wasn't deep."

"I'm not talking about that." He said his eyes meeting hers. Her eyes widened showing she was clearly effected by the intensity of his gaze. "Those bastards left wounds on your heart. It's unforgivable."

The pink haired medic looked down and crossed an arm over her body gripping her bicep. Her body trembled and tears welled in her eyes. "I…" she started but a knock at the door interrupted her.

"Here is your meal. Please leave the dishes outside the door when you finish." A young lady said as she carried two trays inside and set them on the table.

"Thank you." Sasuke replied before she left and closed the door behind her. He glanced back at Sakura and sighed. "Let's not worry about that right now. We'll eat and get settled in for the night, is that alright?"

Sakura nodded and moved to where the trays lay. Her eyes widened when she noticed a serving of anko dumplings amongst the dishes provided. "You don't like these do you Sasuke?" she asked picking up the sweet treat.

"No. They're sickeningly sweet." He replied wrinkling his nose at the treat.

"They why did you get them?" she asked as he picked up his chop sticks and picked up a piece of grilled chicken and laid it on his tray.

"You like them." He replied simply.

Sakura blushed and then looked down. "Thank you." She said softly before popping it into her mouth savoring the sweetness of it.

Sasuke shook his head. "I'll never understand how you two can eat such things." He muttered.

The tilted her head to the side at the comment. "Who?" she asked as she used her own chopsticks to fill up her own tray.

The ink haired young man blinked and then lifted his head slightly. "Oh, I mean you and Itachi." He said before he popped a cherry tomato into his mouth.

Her eyes widened slightly. "That's right." She said her mind drifting back to one of the memories he'd shown her. "Itachi liked sweets didn't he? Especially dango."

Sasuke nodded a little pang of regret mixing with the sweetness of the love he'd felt for and from his brother throbbed in his heart.

"I wish I'd been able to talk properly with him." She said hanging her head slightly. "I think he and I would have gotten along."

The dark haired man looked up at her pleased to see a little light returned to her eyes. "Yes, I think you're right." He agreed.

Less than an hour and a half later, Sakura emerged from the bathroom water still dripping from her blush colored locks dressed in a yukata.

"Do you feel any better?" Saskue asked her looking up as she approached the table where he was seated cleaning his katana. He was dressed in a yukata of his own, his ink colored locks nearly dry since he'd taken his bath first.

"I do." She replied kneeling near him. "Thank you."

He looked over at her sheathed his sword. "Sakura, what can I do?" he asked suddenly. "I can't take today away but there must be something that I can do to make it better."

The pink haired medic blinked in surprise and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine, really." Her eyes widened as she suddenly found herself on her back looking up at a very angry looking Uchiha, her wrists pinned to the ground near her head.

"Don't lie to me ." He said his eyes glinting with anger that wasn't directed at her. "I can see it in your eyes, in the worry lines on your brow, in the weakness of your posture." His onyx eye flashed bright red for a moment before changing back. "Even your chakra." He laid his brow gently against hers. "Don't shut me out." He pleaded.

"That's pretty hypocritical coming from you." She remarked cocking a brow accusingly.

He sighed. "I know that." He admitted. "Even so, I want to help you. Tell me what you need. No matter what it is I'll do everything in my power to provide it." He moved a hand from her wrist and laid it against her cheek. "I'd do anything for you. You and you alone regardless of what you might think of yourself right now." He shifted and pressed his lips to her forehead covering the indigo diamond there. "I love you Sakura." He whispered.

Her eyes widened at his words. The three words that meant more to an Uchiha than any other. Tears welled in her eyes at the enormity of them, having been one of only a handful of times he'd actually said them aloud to her. Her body trembled as she closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath before she spoke. "Please hold me." She said softly the tears leaking past her closed eyelids.

"Of course." He replied softly shifting them so that she was in his lap with his arms wrapped around her protectively. Her hands gripped the lapels of his yukata as she shuddered, tears running down her cheeks as he smoothed a hand over her hair. "It's alright." He assured her. "I'm here."

She shifted in his lap and buried her face in his chest. "Sasuke?" she whispered, her voice tinged with nervousness and desperation.

"What is it?" he replied tucking her head under his chin.

"Make me forget." She whispered. "Please make me forget." Her grip on his clothes tightened. "Every time I close my eyes I can feel them, hear them, smell them." She shuddered again. "Please, make it go away."

Sasuke's breath caught in his throat. For the hundredth time that day he wished he'd tortured the two worthless creatures to death for reducing his beautiful, strong, kind lover into the trembling woman in his arms. He leaned away slightly and looked down at her pleading emerald eyes still shining with tears. He gritted his teeth slightly before he shifted her in his arms and laid her down on the futon. His eyes shifting to red as he gazed down at her. "Do you trust me?" he asked her.

"Yes." She breathed.

He closed his eyes briefly silently praying for guidance before opening them again. He activated his power pulling them into an illusion. Sakura's eyes widened as she looked up and saw clear blue sky slightly obstructed by the pink blossoms of a cherry tree above them. "Where are we?" she asked.

"I came across this place while training years ago." He replied. "I stopped to rest here under this tree and thought that if things were different, that I'd bring you here." He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. "There's no one else in this world but you and me." He assured her as he kissed the tears from her face.

"Sasuke." She murmured.

"Shh." He whispered brushing her lips with his fingertips. "Don't talk anymore. Focus on me, only me."

She nodded and he smiled gently before his attention moved to the now visible kiss mark left behind on her neck. Reminding himself that it wasn't worth resurrecting the dead just to kill them again, his hands gently stroked over her body while his lips brushed gently against the column of her throat. She sighed in response as he laid his own lips over the same spot and began to suck and nibble reclaiming it and covering the assailant's mark with one of his own. Satisfied with his work, he kissed and nipped his way to her collar bone his hands slipping the robe from her shoulders as he went earning a little gasp from her in response. He smirked a little in spite of himself as he moved his attention to her breasts kissing and sucking them until she was moaning with pleasure her body arching into his touch.

"Sasuke." She breathed. "Let me pleasure you too."

"Not this time." He replied his hands stroking over her skin with gentleness and reverence as he mapped her curves with his touch. "Tonight it is all about you."

Sakura shuddered and gasped as Sasuke's mouth and hands worshipped her body. From the top of her head to the tips of her toes he stroked and touched her with gentleness she knew most didn't think he was capable of. When he laid his lips on her core she desperately tried to push him away, overwhelmed by sensation and embarrassment. He'd held his ground and within minutes, her hands had fisted in his hair her back arching up as a his name left her lips at a tone and volume she'd never known she possessed. Her reaction seemed to please him greatly, a cocky smirk playing on his lips as he moved back up her body.

"My my." He murmured. "It seems you enjoyed that. Should I do it again?"

She shook her head quickly. "No!" she protested grabbing his face with her hands and kissing him wrinkling her nose slightly at her own taste. "Sasuke, don't tease me anymore." She begged her cheeks blazing. "Please…"

He chuckled before slipping inside her. She gasped at the sensation and clutched at his back as he set a steady pace following her cries with attention he hadn't before bringing her pleasure she'd never quite experienced. Soon however, it was too much and he picked up the pace his brow knit as he moved. "Sakura!" he groaned. "You're mine." He whispered in her ear before he cried out losing himself within her.

She cried out as she found her own peak and then sighed holding her lover close basking in his scent and his warmth as the blue sky and cherry blossoms faded revealing the ceiling of the room of the inn where they were staying as the genjutsu was broken. Sasuke lifted his head and smiled down at her before pressing his lips to her forehead and then her lips. She could feel the wounds in her heart healing and cupped his face in her hands. "Thank you." She murmured softly. "Thank you so much Sasuke."

He laid his forehead against hers. "No, thank you." He replied rolling to the side and gathering her in his arms. "Thank you for letting me love you like this in spite of all that happened." He brushed his lips against her ear as she pulled the covers over them both. "Sleep now." He urged her. "I'll be here when you wake."

Sakura nodded and snuggled closer against him before drifting asleep and returning to the spot under the cherry blossoms where she once again united with her Uchiha lover, all dark moments from the day forgotten.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes: Thanks for reading, reviewing and such so far. I really appreciate it. Sorry for the long absence. I've said this before in my other works but writing lemons is something I'm very new at so they might seem a little rough and rushed. I also don't feel all the nitty gritty details of sex need to be given since I write romance not straight up erotic fiction. It's just not my style. Additionally, in my little Universe where my version of Sakura and Sasuke live, love, and raise their little Uchiha princess Sarada, they both came together as virgins. Unless you are some sort of sex god you need to build up your stamina. Sorry to burst bubbles but no one is magically great at sex and can last forever (the way I've portrayed their sex so far is still pretty fluffy compared to the actual awkwardness of reality) As far as birth control goes for Sakura, in my mind I believe that Shinobi have a jutsu that they administer to Kunoichi's upon graduating the academy. It would stem to reason that something along those lines would be necessary due to the dangerous nature of their work and to avoid any un-planned bundles of joy. It seems to me from watching and reading the series that babies generally came when planned and wanted so in my Universe it's a secret jutsu that can be released only by high clearance medical ninja's from the same village (like Sakura) when a woman decides to have a child. That way enemy shinobi can't use it to their advantage and there are no "Oops! I got pregnant while seducing my target." Or "Crap! I'm on a five year S Class mission and that one night stand when I got drunk is coming back to bite me." Stuff. Also, I don't have a defined time line for this so it might seem a little disjointed. Anyway, rant/explanation over.**

$%$

Sasuke glanced over at his companion and the corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly as she dashed towards the beach lining the town where they intended to stay for the night. She arrived at the water's edge and grinned as the water lapped at her toes.

"This feels so nostalgic!" she exclaimed tucking her blush colored locks behind her ear.

He tilted his head to the side a little at her comment. "What do you mean?" he asked her.

"I came here once a long time ago." She said her gaze shifting to focus on a large dock where several massive yachts were docked. "One of my missions after the chunin exams. Team Seven was escorting the Prince of The Land of the Moon on an international tour." She giggled lost in her own memories.

Sasuke blinked in surprise and nodded. "So you were short one team member. Wasn't that dangerous? It sounds like a jounin level mission."

"It probably should have been." She agreed crouching to pick up a shell from the shore. "We managed to pull through though. Rock Lee came with us." She sighed a little smile coming to her lips. "Now that I think about it, until Sai was officially assigned to our team just before we caught up with you again, he filled in for you a lot." She grinned. "With him and Naruto together, it was always lively."

The Uchiha looked down a little unsure of what to say to her comment. His mind briefly went back to their first attempt at the Chinin exam, right before their lives all went to Hell.

 _"My name is Rock Lee! Please be my girlfriend! I promise to protect you with my life!" the jumpsuit wearing ninja had proclaimed loudly winking at the rose haired ninja._

He snickered. "You actually followed through with that didn't you?" he murmured.

"What was that?" Sakura asked glancing up at him.

"It's nothing." He replied. "Don't worry about it."

She nodded and straightened and held out a shell to him. It was the color of her hair and shimmered with splashes of blue, green, and purple as she moved it in the sunlight. "It's pretty isn't it?" she said with a smile.

He nodded and touched it. "Yes it is." He suddenly went on high alert as he heard the sound of a low growl coming from nearby.

"What is it Sasuke?" Sakura asked confused by his change in demeanor. Her eyes suddenly widened as she caught movement off to her right and shrieked in surprise as a big cat suddenly pounced on her. "Chamu!?" she exclaimed holding out her hand to stop Sasuke as he drew a kunai. The big cat purred and nuzzled her affectionately as she shifted out from under him and rubbed him between the ears. "What on earth are you doing here?" she asked.

"Chamu! What do you think you're doing?!" a voice called out.

Sasuke turned to see a boy that looked to be about fifteen or sixteen with black hair, a lithe build, and round glasses racing down the beach with a monkey on his shoulder.

Sakura turned towards the voice and her face lit up. "Hikaru? Is that you?" she asked.

The boy came level with her blinking a couple of times in disbelief before grinning widely a slight blush tinging his cheeks. "Saukra!" he exclaimed leaping forward and wrapping his arms around her. "I'm can hardly believe it! I haven't seen you in so long!" he took a step back and gripped her hands in his. "I'm so happy to see you!"

She nodded and grinned back. "It's so good to see you." She agreed. "How is your father?"

He smiled. "He's doing great! Both he and my mother."

The pink haired medic grinned. "I take it they got back together?"

Hikaru nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes! In fact I even have a little sister now." He said his face glowing with pride.

Sakura laughed as the monkey jumped to her shoulder hugging her around the neck. "It seems like these two haven't changed." She said rubbing the little creature's head affectionately. "I take it that things in the Land of the Moon are going well again?"

The young man nodded. "Oh yes. Much better than the last time you were there. In fact-"

"Prince Hikaru! Where are you!?" came a panicked voice.

The teenager sighed. "Rats. They found me." He muttered.

A man wearing a vaguely familiar uniform jogged forward. "Your Highness! I've been searching everywhere for you." The man said leaning forward to brace his hands on his knees.

"Sorry Touma." Hikaru said shrugging. "Chumu ran off and I had to chase him down, but look who he lead me to."

The man looked up and his brow furrowed for a moment before his eyes widened. "Lady Sakura!" he exclaimed smiling broadly at her he reached out and clasped her hand tightly. "What a pleasant surprise!"

Sakura lifted her head slightly as she remembered him as one of their teammates from their siege of the castle. "I'm glad to see you're doing well. The injury you sustained during that battle was pretty substantial." She said with a smile.

He touched his leg and nodded. "It was but thanks to your expert care it healed very well." He glanced at his watch and frowned. "Your highness, your departure is in less than an hour, we should go prepare…"

"Delay it by one hour." The prince replied.

"But your highness…" the man began.

"Sakura is a precious friend of mine that I haven't seen in years. Without her help our nation would have crumbled. I'd like to spend more time with her, is that wrong?" he asked.

"Well no, I suppose not, even so delaying the launch…" the man murmured.

"Unless, you'd like to come with me." Hikaru said glancing at the rose haired medic.

She blinked in surprise and glanced over at Sasuke who was studying her with unreadable eyes. "I don't know Hikaru." She murmured. "Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't want to go. Believe me, I still dream about those beaches, but you see Sasuke and I were headed to The Village Hidden in the Clouds."

"Sasuke? Sasuke Uchiha?" Hikaru said his focus shifting the study the ink haired man. "So it's true then, he actually came back to The Leaf Village like you'd hoped?"

Sakura blushed and shifted her feet nervously. "More or less." She replied. "It's a very long story."

"I'd love to hear it." Hikaru said offering her a wistful smile. "Father, mother, the circus performers, the soldiers. They'd all be really happy to see you again. I'd really like for you to meet my sister too."

The pink haired ninja chewed on her lip nervously. She'd always dreamed of one day going to The Land of the Moon with Sasuke. To frolic with him on their tropical beaches… She snorted a little at her own fantasy, she was fairly certain Sasuke Uchiha never under any circumstances 'frolicked' and imagining him doing something so blatantly out of character for him had her clutching her sides and covering her mouth as she tried to hold in her giggles.

"Do you want to go?" Sasuke asked her interrupting her humorous fantasy.

"What?" she repeated.

"I asked if you want to go." He said his eyes once again unreadable.

She blinked in surprised and blushed. "Well… It's not like I don't want to go." She admitted. "But Sasuke-"

"We're not on a specific time table and our mission is to gather information on how the current world is recovering from the moon incident and The Fourth Great Ninja War." He said in a matter of fact tone. "Going to the Land of The Moon fits well within parameters. If you want to, we can go."

"Are you serious?" she asked him her eyes widening slightly.

"I am." Sasuke replied. "The Prince himself is asking you after all. It would be foolish to pass up an opportunity like this one."

Sakura lowered her head as her heart throbbed in her chest, her emotions threatening to spill from her eyes. Sasuke was truly so gentle and kind. He was doing this for her, offering her a chance to go somewhere he knew was pleasant, an escape from all the difficulty the last few years had brought her. "If you really don't mind…" she murmured looking up at his face. His onyx eyes bored into hers with intensity and gentleness almost asking her to say more so she did. "Will you go to The Land of the Moon with me Sasuke?" she asked quietly her cheeks blazing.

"It would be my pleasure." He answered back a little smirk playing on his lips.

"Excellent! Let us go to the ship at once!" Hikaru exclaimed excitedly leading the way down the beach to where the docks were.

Sakura nodded and balled her hand into a fist and punched Sasuke lightly in the arm.

"Ouch!" he hissed rubbing the spot even as his lips twitched into a smile.

"You were teasing me!" she protested. "Why?"

He chuckled and leaned forward breathing against her neck before he let his tongue slip out to touch the shell of her ear making her breath catch in her throat and her knees weaken. "Because it's fun." He replied simply before he strode away leaving her steaming behind him.

"You damn Uchiha!" she yelled when her legs were working properly again running down the beach after him.

#$#

Sakura sat at a round table with Prince Hikaru and Sasuke eating absently while the young prince spoke of The Land of the Moon and everything that had happened since their last meeting years ago.

"So I heard that Naruto is working with the Hokage now, is that true?" Hikaru asked handing an apple to his monkey companion who scampered with the fruit down to his saber toothed friend laying near the feet of the prince.

Sakura nodded. "It is. He's being trained to be the next successor." She explained. "Kakashi, the silver haired ninja that was the leader on our mission is the current Hokage."

The Prince raised an eyebrow at that. "Is that who it is now?" he replied. "I seem to remember him lying in bed most of the time when I last saw you."

Sakura giggled. "He'd probably cry if he heard you say that." She said with a grin. "Pushing yourself beyond your boundaries always comes at a cost though."

Hikaru nodded and then chuckled. "I remember when you went in the check on him and found him doing pushups in bed. You punched him so hard he had to extend his stay a day."

Sasuke snickered and the pink haired girl blushed. "Hey! He didn't do another pushup until he was recovered though right? I got what I wanted in the end."

"That's true." Hikrau admitted. "It seems that's ususally the case. I remember seeing how you dealt with Naruto and Lee. So Kakashi training Naruto to be the next Hokage then?"

Sakura nodded. "That's the plan at least. Ever since the Fourth Great Ninja War, he's been working hard with that goal in mind." She smiled her mind drifting to her close friend and most trusted companion. "Knowing him, he's sure to achieve his dream. He's definitely on his way now."

"What about you?" the prince asked.

She raised an eyebrow "What do you mean?" she asked.

"You must have a dream too right? Are you on your way?" he asked.

Sakura's eyes widened. Her dream? She glanced at Sasuke who was studying her with his mismatched eyes clearly curious as to what she had to say. From the time she was small, her dream had always been to be by his side. To love him and receive his love in return. To marry the beautiful but quiet Uchiha. However, after watching her beloved fall on the Naruto Bridge as a genin, her dream had begun to change. She didn't selfishly want his love, she wanted to be his strength. Someone who could protect him. Even now, that dream hadn't changed.

"That's a good question." She finally admitted. "I'm not sure of it myself." She laced her fingers together and gently squeezed as she stared down at the table cloth. "I think that perhaps my dream is one that is impossible to reach."

Hikaru blinked and then smiled. "I'm sure you can do it Sakura." He assured her. "Nothing is impossible."

Sakura smiled though there was a tinge of sadness in her eyes as she reflected on Sasuke's great strength and almost incomprehensive power. She was no match for him in terms of chakra or physical strength. How could she dream of protecting someone like that? "I think those words only apply to Naruto." She said after a few moments. Her eyes went to Hikaru and she offered him a slightly bigger more genuine smile. "Even so, I appreciate your words."

A knock sounded at the door before a servant walked in. "Prince Hikaru, the rooms for your guests have been prepared." Said the blonde young man with a bow.

"Excellent." Hikaru said with a smile. "I suppose we should prepare for bed." He said standing up.

"Sounds good." Sakura said following his lead. "This time, I hope we're not woken up in the middle of the night by a squall."

The young prince snickered as he led them from the dining room to the cabins. "You and me both, though we wouldn't have to worry about rescuing a circus full of animals this time around."

Sakura nodded. "That's true. It certainly made for one exciting night."

The prince stopped and motioned to two rooms. "Please rest well. We'll be arriving a little after noon tomorrow." He smiled at Sakura. "I can't wait to hear more about your adventures. See you in the morning."

"Yes. It's been a pleasure Hikaru. See you tomorrow." Sakura said bowing to the prince.

He smiled and left with the servant right behind him leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone. "Well, I guess this is goodnight." She said with a little smile as she touched the door handle. Sasuke nodded a little frown on his face and she nervously tucked a section of hair behind her ear. She knew that look on his face meant he wanted to or was going to ask her something. It was more than likely a question she wouldn't want to answer either.

"Sakura," he said in the soft low voice that always made her heart thunder in her chest. "What is your dream?"

She was spot on. Of course he asked her the one question that she didn't want to answer at least not in front of him. Her feet shifted nervously as she looked down. "I don't really know." she said. It wasn't a complete lie, she honestly wasn't sure what her 'main' dream was anymore. She twisted the handle on the door opening it to reveal the small but functional room behind it. "It's late, and we should head to bed. People in The Land of the Moon love to party so you better rest up now while you can. Last time when Naruto and I came, we got next to no rest."

The Uchiha's frown deepened clearly not satisfied with her answer. He sighed and moved forward wrapping his arms around her waist from behind pulling her firmly against his chest. "You can tell me. I won't laugh." He assured her.

Sakura blushed and looked down. She wasn't worried about that at all. "I know." She replied turning in his arms. Without another word, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her mouth firmly against his. He froze at first, clearly caught off guard but quickly responded one hand sliding up into her hair while the other pressed against the small of her back forcing their bodies closer together. Her tongue slid along the seam of his lips in a sensuous invitation and he immediately responded plunging his tongue into her mouth as he turned them to press her up against the nearby wall. His hands slid under the hem of her shirt igniting a fire in her belly and she gasped as she tugged at his hair when his hands gripped her bra clad breasts. She arched against him instinctively when his fingers tugged at her clothed nipples, her mouth latching onto his neck to cover her moan of pleasure.

"Sakura." He whispered as he moved his mouth to her neck trailing hot kisses along the slim column one of his hands moving to cup her through her shorts. She mewed in response and his teeth latched onto her earlobe and tugged. "I want you." He whispered pressing his hips against hers in a clear illustration of what he meant.

Sakura paused at his words, her brain finally getting a message through her flaming heart and desire. She knew that if he got her into bed, he wouldn't leave until she answered his question. As badly as she wanted him, she wasn't ready to bear this part of herself to him just yet. Besides, the reason she'd jumped him in the first place was to get his mind off the question, not to get him in bed.

"We shouldn't. Not here, there are too many people nearby. Goodnight Sasuke. I'll see you in the morning." She assured him before slipping into her room and closing the door tightly behind her. Her face burned with embarrassment as she leaned against the door and slid to the floor. "I can't believe it." She muttered. "I actually used one of the seduction techniques from pig's stupid classes on how to distract the enemy and I used it on Sasuke of all people." She covered her face with her hands. "I'm the worst."

#$#

Several sleepless hours later, Sakura surrendered herself to the fact that she wasn't going to get any rest and rose from the small cot in her room. She walked over to the porthole and looked out at the sea. It looked calm and serine, the half-moon's reflection shimmering on its surface. Hoping some fresh air would help to calm her troubled mind, she slipped silently out her door and made her way on deck. The crisp bite of the sea breeze made her catch her breath as it tossed her rose colored locks as she walked to the bow of the ship to lean against the railing. She clasped her hands in front of her, her forearms braced on the metal bar and bowed her head forward with a sigh. "Like I could say my dream out loud in front of him." She muttered.

"In front of who?" came a familiar voice.

Sakura turned and saw Hikaru approaching her with Chumu at his side. "Hikaru, what are you doing up?" she asked.

"Chumu is nocturnal. That doesn't change when we're at sea. He makes some of the crew nervous so when he wants to roam, I just come out with him." The young prince explained as he came up beside her and leaned against the railing himself. "So? Who were you talking about?" he asked. "I hope it wasn't me. We're friends forever, you can tell me anything." He said extending his pinkie finger to her in a gesture that she remembered vividly from her last trip to The Land of the Moon.

She smiled and extended hers as well locking them together for a moment. "That's right." She agreed before she sighed and looked out at the sea that looked like ink in the darkness, the same color of her lover's hair. His face floated to her mind and she smiled a little. "You know, when I was younger I had a huge crush on a boy from my village." She explained. "He was dark, broody, and arrogant but so beautiful and talented. I almost fainted from excitement when we were put on the same ninja team and thought that I finally had the chance to get close to him." She snorted and looked down. "He cut me down to size pretty quickly and I realized after seeing him seriously injured for the first time that I was just as annoying and stupid as he told me I was. I decided to work seriously and become stronger so that I could become someone who could protect him, someone he could rely on." She turned to lean her back against the railing and glanced up at the stars. "As we trained and traveled together and I learned more about him, my selfish crush turned into something more genuine and I found myself just wanting him to be happy but…" she took a deep breath. "It was like the entire world was against that. Before I knew it, he was gone and in my desperation to get him back I forced my best friend to make a promise I never should have." She looked down at the ground. "I was so selfish and caused so many of the people close to me grief but… All I wanted was for that boy to come home to where he could smile again, to where I could make good on my vow to myself to protect him and make him happy. It was my only wish, my biggest dream."

"That doesn't sound selfish to me." Hikaru said as he studied her. "What's wrong with a dream like that?"

She snorted and looked down. "I'll never be strong enough to protect him. He has and always will be stronger than me. Not only that, but I don't know how to make a person happy that won't allow themselves to be."

The young prince nodded and then looked up at the sea. "I understand how you feel but I think you're underestimating yourself."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"There's more than one way to protect someone." He said in a matter of fact tone. "Remember when those rouge ninja attacked us on the beach?"

Sakura sighed. "Of course I do. How could I forget? That jerk and his funky petrification jutsu. The annoying girl and her poison gas, not to mention that crazy strong gorilla. They totally crushed us. It actually kind of ticks me off to think about it now."

Hikaru nodded. "Yes they did. I remember feeling so helpless. My grandfather was dead, my father had been kidnapped, and our only way to escape was gone. I remember looking around and seeing Naruto with his head hung in defeat, Lee cursing as he crawled out of the sea, and Kakashi kneeling on the ground staring at what was left of those who had died trying to help us holding his useless arm. It was such a terrible feeling but then," he looked over at her. "Even though you were injured and upset, you rushed over and immediately began healing Kakashi's arm. It was amazing to me that you were able to focus and work in spite of the awful feeling there." He smiled at her. "In that moment, you were protecting your comrades. Giving them the strength and healing their injuries so that when their hearts recovered from the defeat they'd be ready and able to fight again. You really are an inspiration."

The pink haired ninja blushed and then smiled at the boy. "Wow, you really are a prince aren't you? You know exactly what to say to cheer up a girl."

Hikaru blinked and then blushed himself. "I really mean in though." He assured her.

"I know." She replied smiling at him. "I guess I just never thought about it like that before." She raked her fingers through her hair. "Even so, I worry that I'll never be able to give him what he needs to be happy. That he'll continue punishing himself and wandering for the rest of his life."

The prince sighed. "It sounds like this guy you love is pretty troublesome" he said resting his chin on his hand.

Sakura laughed. "You might be right about that." She admitted. "Even so I can't help how I feel about him."

Hikaru smiled and patted her gently on the arm. "I'm glad to hear it. I'm sure someday your love and devotion will be rewarded and he'll marry you just like you always wanted him to."

Sakura turned bright red all the way to the tips of her ear as she gaped at her friend. "What are you saying!?" she demanded. "Who said anything about marriage!?"

"Isn't that what people in love normally do?" Hikaru asked his brown knitting together in confusion. "That was my understanding at least."

The pink haired ninja blinked and then groaned at her own sensitivity to the word marriage. It wasn't strange or scary. People got married all the time and she'd dreamed about it herself; but marrying Sasuke? Perhaps it was the knowledge that it would probably never happen that made her feel weird about it. Marriage meant roots and home something Sasuke had made clear on several occasions he wasn't interested in either of those things.

"It's not Naruto is it?" Hikaru said interrupting her train of thought.

Her mouth gaped and she shook her head violently. "Hell no!" she exclaimed. "Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy, easily one of the best in the world, but no… Just no… He's like my brother. Besides, he's in love with someone else."

"Is that so?" Hikaru said tilting his head to the side slightly. "He acted like he loved you when he was here last."

Sakura groaned. "Well… He probably was back then but it's different now."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it." Hikaru said with a smile. He looked down as Chumu who had finished his nightly patrol of the ship's deck bumped his leg with his nose. "I take it, that's the signal to go back inside." He said petting the big cat on the head.

"Yeah." Sakura said reaching out to pet the cat herself before walking with the prince towards the door leading to the cabins. "Thanks for talking with me." She said as they stopped in front of her room.

"No problem." Hikaru said with a smile. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah. Goodnight." She said as she pushed open the door to her room and slipped inside collapsing on her bed. Her mind raced as she tried to make sense of everything going on in her heart. Marriage… It was something she'd dreamed of, every girl had. From the time she was small, there'd only been one man she wanted to marry. The idea seemed just that though, a dream and nothing more. Especially with a man who seemed determined to punish himself for eternity for what he'd done over the years. However if he ever decided to stop roaming, to come back to the village to stay would he marry her? Was it even possible? Her eyes closed and a vision of herself dressed in a fine white kimono standing next to Sasuke dressed in fine black robes of his own filled her mind. As the image began to shift into a dream Sakura sword she heard the click of the door next to hers shutting however her mind and body were far too tired to investigate and so she drifted asleep instead.

Sasuke Uchiha held his breath after closing the door to his room, waiting to see if Sakura had heard or sensed him but when he sensed no movement, he breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on his bed. He felt a little pang of guilt as he stretched out and stared up at the ceiling. He'd used his specialized skill of hiding his chakra to indulge in that oldest of ninja traditions. Eavesdropping. He hadn't had much of a choice though. It was clear she wasn't going to tell him her dream when she jumped him like that out of the blue before going into her room for the night. It had bothered him more than he cared to admit that she wouldn't tell him. Of course being a master secret keeper himself, he knew he had absolutely no right what so ever to feel entitled to her deepest desires but that didn't stop him from feeling otherwise.

As he really thought about it, he was fairly certain her dream was to be strong enough to protect him and Naruto. She'd spoken about it before, with him even. So why was she so reluctant to talk about it now? Was it because she worried about what the Prince might think? Perhaps that wasn't her dream after all, or her biggest dream. He sighed and pressed his fingers to his temples.

Sakura had changed a lot in the years they'd been separated after he left the village. She'd grown up considerably and had become a force to be reckoned with. A warrior who had taken on the mantle of Slug Queen of the Sannin with strength and confidence. He smirked as he remembered the fourth great ninja war, when he'd decided to temporarily team up with his old comrades to defeat Marada.

 _This was a temporary solution. He'd fight alongside them to get rid of the annoying obstacle in his way before destroying the ninja world as it stood and rebuild a new order with the Uchiha clan at the head like it always should have been._

 _"Don't waver!" Naruto yelled as he took the lead like the show off he was, his finally tamed nine tails chakra giving his body an ominous yellow glow. As much as he hated to admit it, the bastard had become pretty formidable and was sure to be a difficult opponent when the time came to eliminate him, though it made him a very useful ally at the moment._

 _Desperate to not be undone, he pulled his katana from its sheath and funneled his lightning chakra into the blade and sliced through the monsters in front of him as he and Naruto worked to approach to ten tails. A roar caught his attention from behind and his eyes widened as one of the larger beasts flew forward ruffling his as it slammed into several of its comrades. His eyes quickly searched for the warrior who had managed to knock the beastly creature so far back and stopped in his tracks as he watched a figure clad in navy and green fly through the air in hot pursuit of their prey a flash of pink giving away their identity._

 _"Cha!" Sakura exclaimed her fist slamming into the monster and splitting the earth beneath it tossing several of the monsters into the air and burying others under boulders created by her strike._

 _Something that had been dormant for years flickered to life at the sight, a strange heat coursing through his entire being as he looked at Sakura and no longer saw the little girl who had chased after him begging for his attention. Now he could see the woman she'd become, a fierce warrior with a sharp mind to match. As the dust cleared revealing a mountain of destruction and fallen foes with her standing on top with a cocky smirk on her lips he couldn't help but smirk himself. Sakura Haruno was downright sexy and in that moment he couldn't help but want her. Maybe he'd wouldn't kill her like the others. Maybe he'd use her to rebuild the Uchiha clan instead._

He smirked a little as he finished his little trip down memory lane and sighed as he sat up remembering Prince Hikaru's words. _'Then he'll marry you like you always wanted him to.'_

Marriage. It was a word he hadn't given much if any thought to in years. It was a scary word, full of promises and commitments. Marriage was binding yourself to another person of your choosing. To walking down the same path as them with connected feelings.

He raked his fingers through his hair as he remembered his parents. The strict father and soft spoken mother who had raised him until their untimely deaths. Their marriage wasn't perfect, then again he was almost positive that none were, but he remembered the way his father looked at his mother. How the hard lines of his face would soften ever so slightly and he'd smile in a way that he didn't smile at anyone else.

His mind drifted to the pink haired medic sleeping next door. She was very different from his mother, from most Uchiha women. They were generally soft spoken, capable women who cared for their homes and families with quiet, fluid grace. Sakura was an outspoken wild cat and he loved her for it. He thought back to their genin days, to the day they'd met as a team and introduced themselves. Naruto had talked of his love of ramen and wanting to be Hokage like the carefree idiot he was and Sakura had confessed her obvious feelings for him. He'd had no interest in either of them, filled with nothing but hatred for his brother and the fierce desire to restore his once powerful clan.

Restore his clan… his eyes widened as he bolted upright in bed and touched his forehead. "Am I stupid?" he said quietly to himself as a little smile touched his lips. From the beginning, he never really wanted revenge. He never wanted to destroy the ninja world. He never wanted to hurt his friends. All he wanted was a family. His mind thought back to the nights he spent alone in his little apartment crying over his lost family, how those nights had greatly decreased after he joined team seven. He looked over at the wall that separated him from the pink haired medic his memory conjuring up the dream he'd had of Itachi in Suna and the little girl he'd seen holding his brother's hand. He stood up and moved towards the wall placing his hand on the steel barrier the separated him from the girl he loved, the girl he knew deep down he was terrified to lose. His hand balled into a fist as a feeling swelled within him, gushing up and wetting his eyes.

"Sakura…" he murmured. If he asked, he knew she'd say yes. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she would marry him, bear the tainted symbol of the Uchiha on her back with pride. Give him the family he desperately wanted. Even though he didn't deserve it and would never deserve it. "I want it…" he hissed through clenched teeth as his imagination ran wild conjuring up visions of Sakura holding a dark haired child. Visions of her standing in a kitchen with the Uchiha crest on her back. Visions of her wishing him a safe journey when he left on missions and covering him with kisses when he returned. Visions of her dressed in white smiling at him with tears in her eyes as she took his hand and offered her whole self, body and soul to him in front of their friends. "I want her… All of her."


End file.
